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11 

BX  9225  .J63  R62  1914 
Robinson,  Charles  Edward, 

1835- 
Herrick  Johnson 


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HERRICK  JOHNSON 


An  Appreciative  Memoir 


BY 

CHARLES  E.  ROBINSON,  D.D. 

Author  of 
•*  Maltbic  Davenport  Babcock  :   A  Reminiscent  Sketch  " 


Nkw  Yoar 


Chicago 


Toronto 


Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:   100  Princes  Street 


TO 

iWrs;.  Jlerricfe  HToSnsfon 

who  has  won  the  gratitude 

and  love  of  Dr.  Johnson's  many  friends 

by  the  love  and   happy  home  and  tender  care 

she  gave  him  during  the  last  years  of  his  life. 

This  Memoir 

is  respectfully  dedicated  by  the  Author 


FOREWORD 

AS  this  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  so 
widely  beloved  goes  out  from  the  press, 
""I  desire  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness 
to  those  who  have  generously  aided  me  in  pre- 
paring it  and  to  tender  my  thanks.  Were  it  not 
for  the  remarkable  work  done  by  the  first  Mrs. 
Johnson  in  preserving  in  many  scrapbooks 
items  that  helped  to  tell  the  story  of  her  hus- 
band's large,  full  life,  this  memoir  could  not 
have  been  prepared  at  all.  It  was  one  of  the 
many  ways  through  which  she  expressed  her 
devotion  to  him  through  the  nearly  fifty  years  of 
their  singularly  happy  life.  Nor  should  I  fail  to 
thank  Mrs.  Blinn,  widow  of  the  Rev.  H.  G.  Blinn, 
formerly  of  Cambridge,  N.  Y.,  for  opening  up 
the  treasures  of  her  youth  and  giving  me  access 
to  a  delightful  correspondence  she  had  with  Dr. 
Johnson  in  his  early  life.  But  for  this  great 
kindness  the  specially  interesting  features  of  his 
fine  boyhood  and  young  manhood  could  not  have 
been  brought  to  light.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Oscar 
Gray,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  also  furnished  most 
interesting  material  for  that  period,  for  which 
I  am  indebted. 
From  Dr.  E.  C.  Ray,  D.D.,  for  many  years 

5 


6  FOREWORD 

Secretary  of  the  College  Board  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  who  knew  Dr.  Johnson  most 
intimately;  Mrs.  Cyrus  McCormick,  and  the 
Faculty  of  the  McCormick  Theological  Seminary 
in  Chicago,  and  from  my  publishers,  I  have  re- 
ceived very  marked  encouragement  in  my  im- 
perfect effort  to  portray  the  impressive  and 
inspiring  personality  of  this  noble  friend  and 
teacher  of  men.  For  it  all  I  am  both  apprecia- 
tive and  thankful,  as  I  am  for  the  helpful  sym- 
pathy of  the  present  Mrs.  Johnson,  which  I  have 
expressed  in  my  desire  to  dedicate  this  book  to 
her.  I  only  wish  it  were  a  better,  a  finer  book — 
one  not  showing  so  plainly  the  effect  of  declining 
years.  Yet  whatever  its  merits,  whatever  its 
shortcomings,  it  is  offered  in  tender  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  man  I  knew  and  loved  so  well. 

Charles  E.  Robinson. 

Pelham  Manor,  N.  Y., 
August  2j,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

I    Early  Years  and  Memories      .       .      9 

II  Troy,  N.  Y.,  i860- 1863 — Pittsburgh, 
Pa.,  1 863- 1 867 — Marquette,  Mich., 
1868 34 

III  Philadelphia,  1868- 1874  ...     48 

IV  Auburn     Theological     Seminary, 

1874-1880 68 

V    Fourth    Presbyterian    Church   of 

Chicago,  III.,  1880-1883       •  83 

VI     McCoRMicK  Theological  Seminary, 

1883-1903 98 

VII     Afternoon  and  Evening  Time,  1905- 

1913 147 


"  Master  in  his  work,  distinguished  in  per- 
sonaHty,  a  prince  of  preachers,  educator  and 
leader  of  leaders,  a  consummate  Christian  states- 
man, superb  in  assemblies,  fearless  knight  of  the 
conscience,  courageous  commander  of  the  forces 
of  righteousness,  exponent  of  every  grace  of 
courteous  manhood,  and,  above  all,  linking  to 
himself,  by  the  powder  of  love  and  gratitude,  the 
men  of  the  ministry  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
who  sat  at  his  feet." 

(Quoted  from  Dr.  Hill's  opening  address  at  the  great 
memorial  service  held  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Philadelphia,  Dec.  7,  1913). 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES 

"  Preaching  is  to  take  the  truths  of  Holy  Scripture,  and 
unfold,  illustrate,  and  amplify  them  for  enlighten- 
ment and  persuasion,  and  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  have  them  intensified  by  profound 
personal  conviction,  fused  in  the  fire  of  one's  own 
soul,  poured  upon  waiting  ears  and  hearts  from 
lips  touched  with  God's  altar  fires,  and  accompanied 
by  every  possible  adjunct  of  effective  posture  and 
gesture  and  voice — this  is  preaching." 

— Herrick  Johnson. 

HERRICK  JOHNSON  and  I  met  for  the 
first  time  in  September,  1853,  at  Ham- 
ilton College,  where  we  entered  the  class 
of  '57.  We  soon  afterward  joined  the  Alpha 
Delta  Phi  Society,  which  at  once  brought  us  into 
an  intimate  association,  out  of  which  grew  the 
friendship  of  our  Hfe,  strengthening  with  the 
years,  until  his  death  in  November,  1913.  The 
last  ten  years  were  the  best  of  all,  intimate  and 
affectionate  to  the  close.  It  was  in  these  last 
years  that,  in  great  modesty,  he  exacted  a  prom- 
ise from  me,  that  if  a  biography  of  him  were 
thought  worth  while,  I  should  have  charge  of  it, 
should  I  survive  him.  It  comes  to  me  therefore 
as  a  sacred  trust,  but  with   a  profound  sense' 

9 


10  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

of  being  unequal  to  a  task  (especially  on  account 
of  the  infirmities  of  years)  which  calls  for  a 
vigor  and  intellectual  vivacity  of  which  the  many 
years  of  my  life  may  have  deprived  me.  But  at 
the  strong  desire  of  his  family  and  closest  friends 
I  take  it  up,  with  the  hope  and  prayer  that  the 
devoted  friendship  of  our  sixty  years  may  sup- 
plement the  loss  of  other  things. 

When  Herrick  Johnson  entered  college  he  was 
tall,  lithe,  athletic,  with  a  serious  purpose  even 
then  stamped  on  his  face,  but  with  also  a  merry 
heart,  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  and  a  hearty  laugh 
which  was  most  contagious.  The  corridor  in 
which  he  roomed  was  not  a  particularly  quiet 
one.  He  loved  noise,  his  physical  enjoyment  of 
life  was  very  intense,  and  his  shout  and  song 
rang  through  the  College  halls. 

I  learned  later  that  he  was  born  in  Kaughne- 
waga,  in  the  town  of  Fonda,  N.  Y.,  September 
22,  1832.  His  father  was  Mr.  J.  Jay  Johnson, 
his  mother  Mrs.  Lydia  French  Herrick  John- 
son. His  mother  died  comparatively  early,  leav- 
ing two  sons.  Jay  and  Herrick.  Mr.  Johnson 
was  a  commission  merchant,  who  is  said  to  have 
built  the  first  grain  elevator  in  the  city  of  Buffalo. 

The  family  was  well-to-do.  Mr.  Johnson's 
older  brothers  belonged  to  the  class  known  as 
gentlemen  farmers  in  New  York  State.  He 
married,  for  his  second  wife,  Miss  S.  Katherine 
Hequembourg.  The  fruit  of  this  marriage  was 
a   daughter,   still   living    (Mrs.   Oscar   Gray   of 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES     11 

St.  Louis,  Mo.),  who,  on  the  death  of  her  father, 
became  the  tender  charge  of  her  half-brother 
Herrick,  who,  with  characteristic  thoiightfulness 
and  affection,  attended  to  her  education,  seeing 
to  her  graduation  at  the  then  famous  Seminary 
of  Mrs.  Emma  Willard,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  as  all 
who  know  him  would  be  prepared  to  believe, 
he  was  a  most  devoted  brother.  There  was  also 
a  sister  Margaret,  who  died  a  few  years  ago, 
and  Mr.  Charles  W.  Johnson,  now  residing  in 
Webster  Groves,  Mo. 

Herrick  Johnson's  eldest  brother  was  Jay 
Johnson,  a  civil  engineer,  who  died  in  a  fire  in 
Nevada,  in  a  supposedly  fireproof  building, 
where,  in  the  dense  smoke,  he  had  gone  to  secure 
a  map  which  he  had  made.  Little  is  known 
about  him;  but  the  effect  of  his  awful  death  on 
his  father,  completely  prostrating  him  and  from 
which  he  never  rallied,  showed  that  the  son  pos- 
sessed qualities  of  mind  and  heart  that  made 
him  inexpressibly  dear  to  his  father.  Had  Mr. 
Johnson  realized  into  what  a  splendid  manhood 
and  glorious  career  of  usefulness  his  younger 
son  Herrick  would  develop,  he  might  possibly 
have  rallied  his  powers  to  live  for  him. 

Mr.  Johnson  sent  his  son  Herrick  to  James- 
town, N.  Y.,  to  prepare  for  college.  Here  the 
brother  of  his  second  wife  lived,  a  gentleman  of 
rare  nature  and  culture,  the  Rev.  Charles  E. 
Hequembourg,  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  at  that 
time  the  pastor  of  a  church  at  Jamestown.    Her- 


12  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

rick  loved  him,  and  had  a  short  but  happy  stay 
under  his  roof.  Jamestown  was  at  that  time 
noted  for  its  culture,  refinement,  and  churches, 
and  there  were  three  men  in  the  town  who 
exerted  a  peculiarly  strong  influence  upon  the 
young  man's  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual 
life.  They  were  his  stepmother's  brother,  the 
Rev.  Charles  E.  Hequembourg,  just  referred  to; 
a  very  influential  Dr.  Gray,  a  man  of  devoted 
piety,  to  whom  Herrick  used  often  to  refer, 
especially  as  to  his  remarkable  power  in  prayer, 
and,  later,  the  Rev.  H.  G.  Blinn,  who  married 
a  daughter  of  Dr.  Gray's  and  who,  with  his  wife 
and  her  family,  were  immediately  instrumental 
in  the  conversion  of  Herrick  Johnson.  This 
daughter  of  Dr.  Gray,  Mrs.  Blinn,  was  a  young 
woman  of  remarkable  presence  and  intellectual 
power.  She  became  an  intimate  friend  of  Her- 
rick's,  and  at  that  early  period  of  his  life  exerted 
over  him  a  very  quickening  and  intellectual 
influence.  Their  correspondence  through  all  his 
early  life  was  very  delightful.  Occasionally 
some  of  Herrick's  college  friends  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  read  a  letter  of  hers,  and  they  never 
forgot  it.  Undoubtedly  Herrick  owed  more  than 
can  be  told  to  his  association  with  Jamestown 
life.  Mrs.  Blinn  is  still  living  in  honorable 
retirement  at  Cambridge,  Washington  County, 
N.  Y.,  cherishing  the  precious  memories  of  that 
early  friendship. 

In  his  letters  to  his  dear  friend  Mrs.  Blinn  at 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      13 

this  time  of  his  Hfe  Herrick  frequently  refers  to 
his  intense  desire  for  the  conversion  of  his  father 
and  his  fervent  prayer  for  him,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  while  Herrick  was 
in  Hamilton  College,  he  writes  to  her,  October 
5,  1855,  as  follows :  **  Yesterday  I  stood  at  the 
bedside  of  my  father  and  saw  him  die.  Without 
pain  or  paroxysm  he  breathed  his  last  breath,  and 
went  almost  smiling  into  eternity.  His  expres- 
sion ever  since  has  been  so  pleasant,  so  unlike 
death,  that  it  almost  assures  me  he  is  at  rest. 
And  yet — and  yet — my  sister,  he  never  gave  me 
evidence  of  a  change  of  heart.  When  I  came  to 
him  in  this  last  sickness,  he  recognized  me, 
indeed,  and  could  speak  rationally  now  and  then, 
but  his  mind  wandered  so  frequently  that  I  could 
say  nothing  to  him  of  Jesus.  He  told  Dr.  Reed, 
the  minister,  that  he  was  ready  and  willing  to 
die.  Fearing,  doubting,  trembling,  I  am  assured 
of  nothing.  But  I  did  so  long  for  some  evidences 
of  his  acceptance.  It  makes  me  doubt  my  own, 
for  surely  I  have  been  conscious  of  as  faithful, 
earnest  heartfelt  prayer  for  him  as  for  myself. 
It  is  all  dark,  drearily  dark,  and  yet  I  am  calm, 
so  calm  it  almost  alarms  me.  Be  pitiful,  O  God ! 
—Herrick." 

Referring  to  his  sense  of  loss  in  the  death  of 
his  mother,  who  died  in  his  early  youth,  and  to 
his  longing  for  home,  he  replied  as  follows  to 
Mrs.  Blinn's  question  as  to  whether  he  ever 
thought   of    her    father's    home    (Dr.    Gray's), 


U  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

where  he  was  ever  most  welcome :  ''  Think  of 
it?  think  of  it,  do  you  say?  The  home  that  has 
been  mine  in  some  sense  as  it  has  been  yours, 
don't  I  think  of  it?  Do  you  remember  the  little 
stranger  lad  that  stood  leaning  on  a  gate  looking 
over  at  that  same  home  ten  years  ago  this  next 
Thanksgiving  Day?  He  remembers  the  leaning 
and  the  looking,  and  how  two  years  after  God 
gave  him  a  place  at  the  board  by  the  hearth, 
and  at  the  altar  of  that  blessed  home,  and  how 
the  dear  group  he  found  there  gave  him  a  place 
in  their  hearts.  To-day — to-day,  he  is  full  to 
weeping,  dear  friend,  at  the  memory  of  it,  while 
he  thanks  God  for  the  gift.  He  wasn't  grateful 
to  the  Giver  then,  not  until  those  same  hearts  had 
agonized  for  the  adopted  one,  not  until  one  of 
that  loved  circle  [Mrs.  Blinn,  to  whom  he  was 
writing,  herself  young  in  the  Divine  life]  came 
from  her  closet  with  God  one  Sabbath  and  told 
him  in  her  own  sweet  simple  way  the  story  of  the 
Cross  and  said,  '  Be  a  Christian,  Herrick.'  Let 
the  tears  fall,  for  they  are  holy.  And  he  remem- 
bers the  mother  in  that  home,  how  she  loved 
the  newly-born  child  of  God,  cared  for  him, 
prayed  for  him,  counselled  him;  and  how  she 
died,  triumphantly,  gloriously,  peacefully,  and 
then  '  went  Home  indeed.'  What  a  rush 
of  precious  holy  memories,  and  how  they  all 
cluster  there.  That  home !  That  home !  Don't 
I  think  of  it  ?  shall  I  ever  forget  it  ?  " 

Both  Herrick  and  myself  had  a  most  intimate 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      15 

friend,  who  died  suddenly  in  his  Junior  year — 
Charles  M.  Ferrin,  from  Watertown,  N.  Y. 
Still  writing  to  Mrs.  Blinn,  he  poured  out  his 
heart  in  grief :  ''  Charlie  had  become  very  dear 
to  me.  Our  intimacy  of  a  year  and  more,  our 
close  companionship,  our  daily  worship  at  a 
common  altar,  our  precious  evening  prayers, 
when  we  together  met  with  God,  had  served  to 
bind  my  heart  to  him  much  closer  than  I  had 
thought.  I  knew  not  that  I  loved  him  half  so 
well,  until  I  saw  him  passing  away.  He  met 
with  an  accident  while  riding  downhill,  result- 
ing in  congestion  of  the  brain,  from  which  he 
died.  He  passed  into  a  state  of  stupor  out  of 
which  he  never  came.  For  three  days  and  nights 
I  watched  beside  him,  wishing,  longing,  praying 
for  some  signs  of  recognition,  but  not  a  word, 
not  a  look,  was  given.  When  his  mother,  who 
had  been  summoned  to  his  bedside  and  who  had 
lost  an  older  son  in  the  same  college,  some  years 
before,  besought  him  to  speak  to  her  and  there 
was  no  response,  it  was  enough  to  unman  the 
stoutest  heart,  and  I  wept  like  a  child.  Fare- 
well, Chum  Charlie — Angel  Charlie — till  we  meet 
again  to  make  sweet  melody  with  our  hearts  in 
Heaven.    Farewell ! " 

Mrs.  Blinn  writes  me  very  suggestively  of  that 
early  life :  *'  When  Herrick  came  to  us,  he  was 
a  clean,  rollicking,  cheery  boy,  seeming  to  have 
no  thought  at  all  of  the  spiritual  life.  Mr.  Blinn 
followed    Mr.    Hequembourg   very    soon   after 


16  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Herrick's  coming  to  Jamestown,  and  then,  at 
once,  he  became  one  of  our  family.  When  the 
season  of  the  great  revival  in  our  church,  under 
Mr.  Blinn's  ministry,  came,^  Herrick  was  boy- 
ishly inclined  (not  to  sneer)  but  to  take  the 
subject  very  lightly,  apparently.  We  all  loved 
him,  and  he  and  I,  fellow-students  in  the  Acad- 
emy, were  the  best  of  friends — really  comrades — 
engaged  in  much  the  same  studies,  and  both 
somewhat  of  a  literary  turn  of  mind.  Being  on 
such  terms,  I  and  he  had  a  considerable  influence 
over  each  other.  Then,  when  the  religious  in- 
terest in  our  church  deepened,  I  being  already 
a  communicant,  and  very  desirous  of  influencing 
him  in  things  of  the  spirit,  began  to  try  to  turn 
his  attention  that  way.  He  tried  to  laugh  at 
me,  but  I  '  screwed  up  my  courage '  and  resisted 
his  ridicule.  My  parents  were  godly  people  and 
always  at  the  family  altar,  where  all  members  of 
the  family,  who  were  not  yet  numbered  among 
those  confessing  Christ  as  their  personal  Savior, 
were  specially  remembered.  Herrick  still  held 
aloof.  But  to  me,  his  girl  comrade,  and  to  my 
godly  father  and  my  most  lovely  mother,  he 
always  attributed  his  turning  at  that  time  unto 
God.  It  was  in  1847  he  became  an  inmate  in  our 
family.  In  1850,  I  married  and  left  home.  Her- 
rick's union  with  our  family  was  that  of  a  son 
and  brother,  and  so  continued  until  his  mar- 
riage in  i860.  As  I  have  said  above,  he  was  a 
particularly   bright,   intelligent   lad,   more   than 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES     17 

clever,  honest,  square,  generous  to  a  fault ;  up- 
right, with  absolutely  nothing  low  or  mean  in 
spirit,  or  soul,  or  heart,  or  temper.  Amiable, 
lovely,  and  loving.  He  had  a  most  affectionate, 
sympathetic  heart." 

Although  the  letter  here  following  was  writ- 
ten to  Dr.  McCook,  June,  1902,  from  Lake 
Mohonk,  I  quote  it  here,  at  the  outset,  as  it 
relates  especially  to  Dr.  Johnson's  boyhood.  It 
was  written  to  correct  a  statement  made  by 
Dr.  McCook  in  an  address  on  Dr.  Johnson,  who 
at  that  time,  in  the  great  debates  of  the  Revision 
of  the  Standards,  was  in  the  forefront  of  the 
contest,  and  many  people  were  interested  in  his 
possible  early  history.  Dr.  McCook  stated  that 
Dr.  Johnson  began  life  as  an  errand  boy  and  a 
stable  boy,  and  Dr.  Johnson  in  this  letter  seeks 
to  correct  the  erroneous  statement : 

"  Dear  Dr.  McCook  :  The  picture  you  painted 
by  your  imagination  has  a  good  deal  of  basis  in 
fact.  The  town  was  Jamestown,  in  western 
New  York.  Dr.  Alfred  Gray  was  the  physician  ; 
a  bright,  keen-spirited,  and  swift  little  mare 
called  Nellie  was  the  horse,  and  I  was  the  boy. 
And  there  I  first  studied  Latin.  But  I  became 
devotedly  attached  to  the  household  before  I 
became  a  Christian,  and  spent  months  in  the 
beautiful  home,  before  I  went  back  to  prepare 
for  college,  in  order  that  I  might  become  a 
Minister  of  the  Gospel.    In  the  loft  of  that  barn, 


18  lERRICK  JOHNSON 

in  earlier  days,  I  cried  to  God  for  mercy,  and 
after  an  '  inquiry  meeting '  in  the  old  First 
Church,  I  went  into  the  basement  and  there, 
alone  in  the  dark,  I  found  the  light  and  the  peace 
of  God.  I  went  back  that  next  spring  to  Buffalo, 
where  my  father  lived,  a  respectable,  fairly  well- 
to-do  business  man,  and  renewed  the  occupation 
of  the  previous  year,  taking  my  old  position  in  a 
forwarding  and  commission  office,  but  with  my 
heart  no  longer  in  trade.  The  desire  was  planted 
in  me,  and  it  grew  and  grew  as  the  days  and 
weeks  and  months  went  by,  that  I  must  be  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.  That  desire  never  left 
me.  I  waited  a  year  to  test  it,  that  I  might  surely 
know  whether  it  was  a  temporary  enthusiasm 
born  of  the  hour,  or  a  conviction  born  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  Meanwhile,  I  kept  at  my  post 
as  a  shipping  clerk,  having  made  public  profes- 
sion of  my  faith  in  Christ,  and  united  with  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Buffalo,  of  which 
Dr.  M.  L.  P.  Thompson  was  then  the  pastor. 

"  Later  I  talked  with  my  father  of  my  growing 
conviction  and  desire  to  become  a  minister.  He 
was  surprised  and  disappointed.  He  had  counted 
on  a  business  career  for  me.  I  had  already  won 
the  confidence  of  the  house  in  which  I  was  em- 
ployed, and  had  very  gratifying  assurances  from 
the  head  of  it.  This  study  for  the  ministry  meant 
eight  or  nine  years  of  academic  training.  My 
father  was  opposed  to  it.  He  had  no  objection  to 
the  ministry  as  such,  while  not  then  a  professing 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      19 

Christian.  He  attended  regularly  the  services 
of  the  sanctuary,  and  contributed  regularly  to 
its  support.  But  he  had  set  his  heart  upon  my 
achieving  business  success.  After  further  con- 
sideration, I  went  to  him  again,  some  weeks  later, 
and  told  him  that  the  desire  had  grown  with  the 
lapse  of  time  and  that  I  must  have  his  consent 
to  begin  preparation  for  college.  He  gave  it, 
but  said  his  circumstances  were  such  that  he 
could  not  render  me  any  assistance  at  all  ad- 
equate to  the  need.  He  had  always  cared  for 
his  family  by  a  reasonable  competence.  We 
children  had  had  a  good  common  school,  and  I 
an  excellent  private  school,  education,  but  I  had 
never  touched  the  classics.  At  one  time  my 
father  was  quite  successful  in  the  forwarding 
and  commission  business,  being  one  of  a  com- 
pany running  a  special  line  of  boats  of  their  own 
on  the  Erie  Canal  between  Buffalo  and  Albany, 
but  he  had  met  with  reverses,  and  when  I  began 
studying  with  a  view  to  the  ministry  was  not 
able  to  render  me  any  material  aid.  I  had  been 
at  Jamestown  a  couple  of  winters,  visiting  and 
reading  for  the  Rev.  Charles  Hequembourg,  a 
brother  of  my  father's  second  wife.  There  I 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Gray's  family,  living 
just  opposite,  and  I  at  last  became  so  attached 
to  that  family,  and  they  to  me,  that  I  made  their 
house  my  home,  when  Mr.  Hequembourg  moved 
from  the  village. 

"  The  Grays  became  very  dear  to  me,  and  I 


go  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

was  like  an  adopted  son.  Their  house  seemed 
an  outer  court  of  Heaven.  Mrs.  Gray  was  a 
saintly  soul,  and  Dr.  Alfred  Gray  was  to  my 
mind  the  nearest  to  an  ideal  of  a  good  physician 
I  ever  met.  I  never  knew  a  physician  who  so 
carried  his  patients  on  his  heart,  and  who  so 
bore  them  to  God  in  prayer.  It  was  under  this 
family  influence,  and  under  the  preaching  of  the 
Rev.  H.  G.  Blinn,  that  I  was  brought  to  Christ. 
I  was  in  that  family  as  a  son.  I  was  not  hired 
to  do  anything,  but  my  chief  work  was  to  keep 
the  doctor's  books,  and  prepare  his  medicines. 
The  care  of  the  horse  was  a  purely  incidental 
matter,  but  that  bay  mare,  spirited  and  gentle, 
was  my  pride  and  joy.  I  groomed  her  as  I 
would  a  pet  dog. 

"  You  can  readily  see  from  all  this,  Dr. 
McCook,  that  your  representation  of  my  early 
career  conveys  a  false  impression.  It  does  not 
tell  the  truth  in  the  statement  that  I  began  life 
as  a  stable  boy.  In  referring  to  me  as  an  errand 
boy  and  a  stable  boy  it  conveys  the  impression 
that  I  was  a  hired  hostler  employed  in  a  stable. 
If  I  had  been,  I  should  not  have  been  ashamed 
of  it.  The  greater  would  have  been  the  credit 
for  overcoming  unfavorable  conditions.  And 
there  is  no  disgrace  whatever  in  having  been 
employed  in  a  stable.  But  it  does  not  happen 
to  be  the  truth,  and  I  am  sorry  you  made  such 
public  use  of  false  premises.  If  your  address 
should  go  to  print,  this  feature  of  it  should  be 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      21 

made  to  conform  to  the  facts.  I  intimated  as 
much  as  this  in  referring  to  the  *  picture  painted 
by  your  imagination.'  Under  the  pressure  that 
was  upon  me,  just  prior  to  the  Assembly,  I  could 
not  take  the  time  for  these  details.  But  I  did  not 
dream  you  were  to  give  your  statement  the  wide 
publicity  that  followed.  I  think  you  should  have 
consulted  me  before  embodying  it  in  an  historic 
address." 

It  was  the  greatest  blessing  to  him,  and 
to  the  world,  that  he  responded  favorably 
to  the  intellectual  and  Christian  life  with  which 
he  was  surrounded  at  Jamestown,  for  he  would 
have  been  a  great  sinner  had  he  not  become  a 
saint.  He  had  it  in  him  to  be  one  or  the 
other.  He  did  nothing  by  halves.  In  his 
boyhood  some  bright  alluring  associates  led 
him  to  the  saloons  of  Buffalo,  where  he  was  for 
a  time  quite  fascinated,  his  bonhomie,  his  fine 
voice,  his  gifts  for  speaking  making  him  a  strong 
asset  of  that  life.  But  he  soon  felt  the  shame 
and  sin  of  it,  and  in  the  face  of  the  derision  of 
his  companions  broke  away  from  it.  They  went 
on  their  own  way,  and  after  a  while  were  lost 
in  the  flood  of  evil,  while  he  went  on  his  way, 
constantly  upward  to  the  perfect  day. 

One  of  his  best  preparations  for  college  was 
the  facility  and  love  for  writing  and  public  speak- 
ing he  possessed  in  his  school  days.  I  have  on 
my  desk  an  essay,  written  in  fine,  almost  micro- 


ga  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

scopic,  and  beautiful  chirography  when  Herrick 
was  about  fifteen  years  old,  which  took  a  prize. 
Early  in  life  he  delivered  in  a  public  hall  a  tem- 
perance address — the  beginning  of  his  lifelong 
eloquent  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  temperance. 
In  coming  to  Hamilton  College  he  found  a  con- 
tagious influence  in  that  direction.  The  very 
night  he  arrived  there  was  the  great  event  of 
the  commencement  week,  the  contest  for  the 
prize,  by  the  twelve  best  speakers — four  from 
each  of  the  three  under  classes — and  the  oc- 
casion when  Charles  E.  Knox,  afterwards  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Knox  of  the  German  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  won  the  first  prize  Fresh- 
man year — the  highest  prize  of  all.  Those  who 
are  still  alive,  who  entered  college  at  that  time, 
will  never  forget  the  thrill  and  excitement  of 
that  contest.  Undoubtedly  it  has  been  so  ever 
since  at  every  commencement,  for  Hamilton 
College  has  always  given  great  attention  to  pub- 
lic speaking  and  class  orations.  The  high  stand- 
ard was  set  by  a  remarkably  gifted  man.  Pro- 
fessor Mandeville,  who  instituted  a  system  in 
the  study  of  oratory  and  public  speaking  which 
has  been  known  ever  since,  with  some  modifica- 
tions, as  the  ''  Mandevillian  System." 

In  1853,  Dr.  Anson  J.  Upson  was  in  the 
Mandevillian  chair,  and  had  lifted  up  to  still 
greater  height  the  standard  of  public  speaking, 
and  had  awakened  a  great,  inextinguishable 
enthusiasm  for  it.     Not  one  of  the  boys  who 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES     23 

entered  that  year,  and  who  were  at  that  prize 
speaking  contest,  could  fail  to  be  seized  with  the 
public  speaking  craze.  It  specially  met  Herrick 
Johnson's  taste  and  trend  and  gifts,  and  fired  his 
highest  aim.  Probably  there  was  nothing  he 
wanted  so  much  as  the  prize  in  his  class  at  the 
next  commencement.  But  unfortunately  his 
standards  and  ideals  of  public  speaking  were  just 
then  as  far  as  possible  from  the  Mandevillian 
standard.  He  had  acquired  what  was  called  a 
ministerial  tone  and  other  faults  fatal  to  any 
success,  unless  eradicated.  The  best  speakers  of 
the  upper  classes  were  the  recognized  and  ac- 
cepted ''  drillers  "  of  the  new  boys,  who  at  once 
put  themselves  under  their  care  and  criticism. 
Every  spring  and  fall  a  certain  valley  with  a 
grove,  north  of  the  college,  was  the  resort  of 
the  aspirants  for  success  at  this  time.  The 
woods  would  ring  with  their  *'  exercises  "  and 
strenuous  declamation,  and  I  presume  it  is  the 
same  to-day. 

Herrick  Johnson  had  a  magnificent  voice,  well- 
nigh  ruined  by  his  sins  against  the  right  method 
of  using  it.  He  soon  saw  that  it  was  going  to 
be  essential  for  him  to  go  down  to  the  foundation 
of  his  wrong  methods  and  break  them  all  up 
and  absolutely  eradicate  his  *'  tone."  It  was  no 
easy  thing  to  do,  but  the  young  man  was  in- 
tensely ambitious,  and  so  he  worked  with  the 
greatest  energy.  He  failed  of  an  appointment 
OP  the  "  best  four  "  of  his  Freshman  class.    But 


24  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

he  worked  away  during  Sophomore  year  and 
failed  again.  But  the  upperclassmen  saw  his 
pluck,  they  recognized  his  grand  voice,  and  they 
worked  with  him  during  his  junior  year,  until 
he  had  mastered  the  Mandevillian  style,  wholly 
eradicated  his  '*  tone,"  corrected  all  defects,  and 
got  his  appointment  for  one  of  the  best  four 
speakers  of  the  Junior  year;  and  on  the  prize 
speaking  night  of  that  commencement,  he  went 
on  the  platform  conscious  of  his  power  and  swept 
everything  before  him  as  the  Junior  prize  speaker. 
It  set  the  standard  for  that  young  man.  Voice, 
manner,  address  were  all  masterful  and  ac- 
counted easily  for  his  great  success  as  a  public 
speaker  through  all  his  subsequent  prominent 
and  successful  career  in  his  profession. 

I  have  dwelt  at  considerable  length  on  this 
experience  of  his,  as  it  was,  in  a  certain  sense, 
the  turning  point  in  his  public  life,  and  his  suc- 
cess showed,  as  nothing  else  in  college,  his  mas- 
terful qualities.  His  standing  in  college  was 
high.  He  took  several  prizes  in  writing,  but  it 
was  in  public  speaking  and  prize  debates,  that 
he  went  up  to  the  front.  It  was  inevitable  that 
the  eyes  of  the  college  should  be  turned  toward 
him  and  that  the  faculty,  who  are  not  easily 
deceived  by  "  the  men,"  had  great  hopes  of  his 
future.  A  peculiarly  warm  and  devoted  friend- 
ship sprang  up  between  that  rare  man,  Professor 
Edward  North,  and  Herrick  Johnson,  so  that 
when  years  afterward  that  greatly  beloved  '*  Gre- 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      25 

cian  "  came  to  die,  Herrick  Johnson  (to  quote 
from  President  M.  Woolsey  Stryker,  writing 
from  Hamilton  College)  was  selected  in  1903  to 
"  make  the  memorial  address  here,  in  tribute  to 
our  long  time  beloved  Professor  Edward  North. 
He  did  it  in  most  complete  and  welcome  style." 

He  was  happy  in  his  selection  of  Auburn  The- 
ological Seminary  as  the  institution  for  his  pro- 
fessional studies.  The  city  of  Auburn  was  itself 
delightful,  and  the  warm  love  and  pride  of  the 
citizens  for  the  seminary  gave  to  the  students  a 
homelike  environment  quite  unlike  that  of  the 
average  theological  seminary. 

To  his  friend,  Mrs.  Blinn,  he  wrote  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  room  in  the  old  seminary  building, 
which  I  quote,  certain  that  if  any  clergymen  are 
now  living  who  roomed  in  that  old  building  read 
it,  they  will  recall  with  interest  that  part  of  their 
life  which  was  spent  there :  ''  Take  my  arm  now, 
and  we'll  visit  my  little  home  of  a  room  together. 
You  know  I  said  the  building  fronts  south,  so 
here  we  go  up  the  gravelled  walk,  entering  the 
door  of  the  west  wing,  up  one  flight  of  stairs  and 
opening  the  first  door  at  the  right,  we  find  the 
rear  middle  room,  second  story  of  the  west  wing, 
with  windows  facing  the  north.  This  is  my 
sanctum — walk  in.  Just  at  your  left  elbow  in  a 
corner,  close  by  one  of  the  windows,  is  a  high 
desk,  designed  as  a  relief  when  one  gets  tired 
of  sitting.  There  I  shall  occasionally  stand  and 
study  or  write.    Between  the  two  windows  hangs 


26  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

the  little  monitor  that  ticks  off  the  seconds  as 
they  come  and  go,  out  of  time  into  the  past 
eternity.  It  reminds  me  often  of  another  time- 
piece, my  beating  heart,  whose  rusted  machinery 
has  been  made  to  run  smoothly  again  by  my 
visit  to  Jamestown.  Beyond  the  second  window, 
in  the  northeast  corner,  is  a  stand  and  bookcase, 
the  latter  just  large  enough  to  receive  my  little 
library.  The  four  shelves  of  books  look  so  cozy 
there,  and  give  such  a  literary  air  to  the  room, 
that  I  am  vastly  pleased  with  the  northeast 
corner.  Passing  your  eye  along  the  east  side, 
you  meet  the  stove  about  midway,  standing  well 
out  in  the  room  and  a  perfect  little  gem  in  its 
way,  both  in  its  appearance  and  utiHty.  On  the 
southeast  corner,  see  that  alcove  partially 
screened  by  tasteful  curtains  ?  Just  outside  there, 
my  sister,  is  my  praying  place.  There  I  try  to 
talk  with  God.  Elsewhere  also,  but  there  espe- 
cially seek  I  communion  with  my  Elder  Brother. 
There  you  are  remembered  and  the  other  loved 
ones.  Within  that  alcove  is  a  comfortable  bed 
on  which  I  pillow  my  head  of  nights  and  rest- 
fully  sleep,  perchance  to  dream.  Passing  on  to 
the  southwest  corner,  you  see  a  door  that  opens 
into  my  clothes-press  and  wash  room,  and  so 
you  finally  reach  the  main  entrance  again.  The 
centre  table,  at  which  I  am  now  writing,  is  some 
httle  distance  from  the  north  side,  where  the 
windows  are,  and  about  midway  between  a  com- 
fortable remove  from  the  stove  and   from  all 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES     27 

points  easily  accessible.  Here  I  shall  do  the  most 
of  my  studying  and  writing.  Here  the  thoughts 
of  my  letters  to  you  shall  wipe  their  sandals  as 
they  go  in  with  the  sheet  of  blotting  paper  now 
before  me  as  the  doormat.  Here  I  shall  dig 
after  Hebrew  roots,  strive  to  digest  mental  food, 
discipline  my  mind,  and  store  it  with  such  mate- 
rials as  shall  the  better  fit  me  for  usefulness  in 
the  years  to  come." 

There  was  a  close  relation  between  the  sem- 
inary and  the  churches  of  the  city,  and  at  that 
time  peculiarly  so  with  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  then  one  of  the  grandest  churches  in 
central  New  York,  under  the  inspiring  ministry 
of  Dr.  Charles  Hawley.  Very  few  theological 
students  had  had  an  opportunity  to  attend  such 
a  notable  prayer  meeting  as  was  held  every  week 
in  that  church,  or  to  hear  such  laymen  give  their 
testimony  as  Dr.  Steele,  Dr.  Willard,  and  others 
did.  The  first  year  of  Herrick  Johnson's  semi- 
nary life  was  in  1857,  at  the  time  of  the  great 
revival  that  spread  through  the  country.  Auburn 
churches  were  always  specially  responsive  to 
such  great  awakenings.  The  religious  life  at 
that  time  was  very  intense,  and  greatly  inter- 
ested and  affected  the  students — especially  Her- 
rick Johnson.  He  was,  as  has  been  stated,  very 
ambitious  in  college,  and  while  his  ambition  was 
strong,  intense,  immense,  it  was  not  then  always 
consecrated.  But  at  this  time  his  soul  was  moved 
to  its  depths,  and  he  made  a  dedication  of  him- 


S8  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

self,  so  complete  and  spiritual  as  to  radically 
change  his  Christian  experience,  with  this  great 
result — that  all  his  traits  and  gifts  and  tenden- 
cies were  consecrated.  He  came  into  a  humble, 
devout,  reverent  spirit,  which  ever  afterwards 
characterized  him.  He  had  always  a  dominating 
way  with  him,  but  it  became  controlled,  enriched, 
and  sweetened.  Not  until  then  did  his  friends 
realize  the  depth  and  strength  of  his  affections. 
Strong,  sometimes  assertive,  blazing  away  with 
intensity  in  the  defence  of  great  questions  and 
principles,  it  was,  after  all,  from  this  time  that 
his  heart  controlled  him,  controlled,  as  it  in  turn 
was,  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  faculty  of  the  seminary  held  very  friendly 
relations  with  the  students.  Dr.  Samuel  M. 
Hopkins,  cultured,  brilliant,  and  fascinating,  if 
sometimes  somewhat  erratic;  Dr.  Huntington, 
witty,  friendly,  charming,  and  at  home  in 
Hebrew;  Dr.  J.  B.  Condit,  polished,  devout,  the 
very  ideal  of  the  old-fashioned  cultured  New 
England  preacher,  and  Dr.  Edward  Hall,  with 
his  old-time  theology,  benign  face,  sturdy  heroic 
persistence  in  the  face  of  failing  health,  a  splen- 
did example  of  a  man  possessed  with  a  pure  and 
noble  purpose — these  were  the  men  of  sterling 
worth  to  whom  the  seminary  students  had  access. 
If  they  could  not  measure  up  to  some  of  the 
educational  ideals  of  to-day,  they  would,  at  least, 
stand  among  the  highest  anywhere  and  at  any 
time,  in  character,  devotion,  single-hearted  con- 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      29 

secration  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  such  their  influ- 
ence upon  the  student  was  inspiring  and  lasting. 
As  a  rule  the  life  at  a  theological  seminary  is 
freer  from  the  dividing  contests  and  selfish  aims 
of  college  life.  And  so  it  was  that  the  men  had 
one  purpose,  one  aim,  and  so  dropped  the  ag- 
gressive spirit  of  college  days.  Herrick  John- 
son greatly  enjoyed  the  life  in  the  seminary. 
When  not  occupied  with  his  studies,  which  he 
pursued  with  a  scholar's  instinct,  he  was  often 
in  hot  debate  with  his  dear  old  friend,  Thomas 
Sherrard  (who  died  all  too  early  to  fulfil  the 
fine  promise  of  his  life),  walking  up  and  down 
their  rooms,  with  their  long  study  gowns  flying 
as  they  vehemently  argued,  shaking  their  fists 
in  each  other's  faces,  but  under  radically  differ- 
ent conditions  from  those  of  whom  Milton  sang — 

" — Reasoned  high 
Of  Providence,  fore-knowledge,  will,  and  fate — 
Fix'd   fate,    free-will,   fore-knowledge   absolute 
And  found  no  end  in  wandering  mazes  lost. 
Of  good  and  evil  much  they  argued  then, 
Of  happiness  and  final  misery. 
Passion  and  apathy  and  glory  and  shame." 

Herrick  made  his  corridor  about  as  noisy  as 
he  did  in  college,  filled  as  he  was  with  the  joy 
of  life.  On  the  campus  he  ran  for  the  ball  with 
great  vehemence.  In  our  primitive  gymnasium 
it  was  fine  to  see  him  swing  himself  with  the 
rings,  rising  with  physical  prowess,  and  throw- 
ing his  muscular  frame  out  to  the  limit.    There 


30  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

was  a  certain  eagerness  to  succeed  in  athletics, 
which  was  characteristic  of  the  whole  man. 
Eagerness  was  the  best  word,  perhaps,  to  use  to 
describe  his  method  in  college,  seminary,  or  the 
world  at  large.  The  ideal  eagle,  not  the  real 
bird,  the  ideal  lion,  not  the  feline  beast  of  the 
jungles,  would  well  denote  the  look  on  his  face. 
After  his  spiritual  re-baptism,  **  aspiration " 
might  be  a  better  word  to  employ  than  eagerness, 
but  one  must  combine  them  to  get  a  true  idea  of 
what  manner  of  man  he  was. 

Herrick  Johnson  owed  a  great  deal  to  the  deep 
interest  awakened  among  young  people  at  that 
time  in  Tennyson,  the  Brownings,  and  Owen 
Meredith.  The  students  were  all  talking  about 
Tennyson's  In  Memoriam  and  Mrs.  Browning's 
Aurora  Leigh,  Drama  of  Exile,  and  Sonnets 
from  the  Portuguese  and  Robert  Browning's 
Saul,  By  the  Fireside,  and  others.  Great  poems 
these,  which  are  certainly  not  shelved  now — 
but  they  were  new  then — and  the  enthusiasm 
over  them  was  intense. 

I  remember  going  into  Herrick's  room  one 
morning  and  finding  him  ill  and  designing  to 
remain  in  bed.  I  offered  to  read  to  him,  and 
he  chose  Mrs.  Browning's  Drama  of  Exile.  I 
soon  became  too  absorbed  to  think  of  him.  When 
at  the  height  of  the  Drama  I  turned  to  the  bed 
and  found  him  sitting  up  straight,  his  arms  lifted 
up  in  a  sort  of  rapture.  That  is  the  way  we  took 
our  great  literature  in  those  days. 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES     31 

It  was  here,  in  Auburn,  that  he  found  his 
dearly  beloved  wife  of  many  years.  The  Har- 
denburg  family  was  one  of  the  best  and  most 
honored  families  in  the  city,  and  Miss  Kate 
Hardenburg  was  unquestionably  a  young  woman 
of  rare  intellectual  culture,  and  of  strong  per- 
sonal influence.  The  Hardenburg  residence  was 
the  centre  of  a  charming  social  and  literary  life. 
The  newest  poet,  the  latest  book,  were  always 
discussed  there,  with  cultured  discrimination. 
Mr.  James  Cox,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Auburn, 
and  son  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Samuel  Harson 
Cox,  played  the  violin  very  well.  One  evening  in 
each  week  he  brought  in  the  best  music,  to  which 
Miss  Kate  Hardenburg  played  the  accompani- 
ments. They  were  delightful  evenings.  A  few 
students  were  privileged  also  to  resort  to  them, 
among  them  Herrick  Johnson.  Before  the  close 
of  the  second  or  middle  year  of  the  seminary, 
his  engagement  to  Miss  Kate  Hardenburg  was 
announced,  to  the  delight  of  many  friends.  It 
was  a  union  greatly  blest  to  them  both,  through 
a  long  and  happy  life. 

There  were  three  of  us — Herrick  Johnson, 
Smith  Harris  Hyde  ("  Harry,"  as  we  affec- 
tionately called  him,  of  blessed  memory),  and  I, 
who  went  three  times  a  day  to  our  boarding 
place  on  Grover  Street.  The  way  took  us  past 
the  corner  of  the  old  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  looked  out  on  the  rear  of  the  Hardenburg 
mansion,  across  the  street.    Every  morning  there 


S2  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

was  a  face  and  hand  at  the  window  to  greet 
Herrick,  and  an  answering  recognition  with 
waving  of  hat  and  a  sort  of  Jim  Crow  shuffle. 
The  fun  and  spirit  and  that  hand  from  the  win- 
dow come  back  to  me  over  the  waste  of  years, 
and  I  recall  it  with  smile  and  sigh. 

There  was  at  that  time  a  most  enjoyable 
service  open  to  the  students  for  the  first  year 
and  a  half  of  their  course, — teaching  classes  in 
the  prison,  Sunday  morning.  There  were  gen- 
erally about  two  hundred  of  the  prisoners  al- 
lowed to  be  present,  and  the  interest  displayed 
both  by  teacher  and  pupils  was  very  inspiring. 
Toward  the  last  of  the  middle  year  such  students 
as  had  been  licensed  to  preach  gave  up  their 
prison  classes  in  order  to  be  ready  to  supply 
vacant  pulpits  in  the  country  churches  round 
about  Auburn.  It  was  while  engaged  in  this 
work  in  the  latter  half  of  the  Senior  year  that 
some  one  from  Troy,  N.  Y.,  heard  Herrick  John- 
son and  was  so  struck  with  his  personality  and 
his  preaching  that  he  gave  his  name  to  a  com- 
mittee of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Troy, 
who  were  on  the  lookout  for  an  assistant  to  the 
venerable  Dr.  Beman,  who,  having  filled  his  pul- 
pit for  many  years  with  great  ability  and  won- 
derful power,  was  now  feeble  through  age.  The 
committee  invited  him  to  supply  their  pulpit,  and 
in  a  very  short  time  he  was  called  to  the  position 
of  assistant  pastor  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  confer  with  him  at  Utica,  half-way 


EARLY  YEARS  AND  MEMORIES      33 

between  Troy  and  Auburn.  There  was  great 
excitement  among  our  set  of  fellows,  and  six 
of  us  met  Herrick  at  the  railroad  station  on  his 
return  and  took  him  to  an  oyster  saloon,  and 
calling  for  a  private  room,  sat  down  to  the  simple 
meal,  and  said,  '*  Now  tell  us  all  about  it."  He 
told  us  fully  about  the  meeting  with  the  com- 
mittee, the  conference,  and  his  acceptance  of  the 
call.  We  asked  him  what  his  salary  would  be, 
and  when  he  told  us  that  it  was  to  be  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  we  almost  fell  under  the  table! 
It  was  the  time  of  small  salaries  for 
young  men,  and  we  thought  with  amazement  of 
the  way  he  would  roll  in  wealth.  We  asked 
him  if  he  was  not  afraid  of  being  *'  set  up,"  of 
losing  his  spirituality.  He  and  I  have  often 
laughed  over  it  since,  but  at  the  time  it  took  us 
days  to  get  over  our  astonishment.  Herrick 
graduated  with  honors  in  the  spring  of  i860. 
His  entire  class  loved  him  and  was  very  proud 
of  him.  He  entered  as  soon  as  possible  on  his 
field  of  service  as  assistant  pastor  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Troy,  and  on  September 
6,  i860,  was  married  to  Miss  Katherine  Spencer 
Hardenburg  and  so  began  his  great  career  as  a 
minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


II 

TROY,  N.  Y.,  1860-63— PITTSBURGH,  PA., 
1863-67— MARQUETTE,  MICH,  1868 

"Then    I   preached    Christ,   and   when   she  heard   the 

story — 
(Oh!  is  such  triumph  possible  to  men?) 
Hardly,  my  King,  had  I  beheld  Thy  glory, 
Hardly  had  known  Thy  excellence  till  then. 

Oft  when  the  Word  is  on  me  to  deliver. 
Opens  the  Heaven  and  the  Lord  is  there. 
Desert  or  throng,  the  city  or  the  river, 
Melt  in  a  lucid  paradise  of  air." 

— F.  W.  H.  Myers. 

THE  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Troy, 
to  which  Herrick  Johnson  was  called  to  be 
assistant  pastor,  was,  without  doubt,  at 
that  time  not  only  the  foremost  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  city,  but  also  a  notable  church  in 
northern  and  eastern  New  York  State.  Dr. 
Beman  was  a  Southern  man,  of  very  pronounced 
Northern  principles,  invincibly  opposed  to  slav- 
ery, and  of  clearly  defined  New-School  theolog- 
ical views.  He  was  a  man  who  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  and  great  ability  in  presenting 
them.  He  held  a  free  lance  on  Thanksgiving 
Day,  and  regularly  aroused  such  antagonism  in 
those  who  did  not  agree  with  his  political  views 
that  several  of  them  would  leave  the  church  in 

34 


TROY— riTTSBURGH— MARQUETTE  35 

white  heat,  vowing  that  they  would  never  enter 
it  again.  But  he  was  so  much  of  a  man,  so 
tender  in  his  preaching  on  the  love  of  God,  en- 
dowed with  such  power  in  argument,  so  irre- 
sistible in  persuasion,  so  fascinating,  that  those 
very  men  who  would  leave  the  church  on  Thanks- 
giving Day  were  always  drawn  back  again.  He 
educated  men  and  women  to  be  thinkers,  and 
his  congregation  were  thoroughly  capable  of 
digesting  solid  food  in  preaching,  and  both 
wanted  and  welcomed  it. 

Herrick  Johnson  was  unusually  mature  at  the 
time  of  his  graduation  from  the  theological  sem- 
inary. He  stood  every  inch  a  man,  at  once  chal- 
lenging the  attention  of  his  hearers.  He  was 
not  New  School  in  his  theology.  He  would  have 
been  a  stern  Calvinist  had  it  not  been  for  his 
heart,  and  he,  like  Dr.  Beman,  had  great  courage 
and  boldness  in  preaching  the  truth.  His  voice 
was  like  a  great  organ  with  many  stops,  from 
the  vox  humana  to  the  open  diapason.  He  had 
perfect  control  of  it.  He  had,  even  then,  a  re- 
markable gift  in  prayer.  There  was  a  reverent, 
tender,  exquisitely  solemn  quality  without  any 
"  solemn  tone  "  to  his  voice  that  helped  those 
whom  he  led  in  prayer  to  realize  that  they  were 
in  the  very  presence  of  God  Himself.  Such 
confession  of  sin,  such  penitence,  such  love,  such 
adoration  the  people  felt  could  be  voiced  only  by 
one  who  himself  was  really  praying.  Those  of 
his  hearers  whom  he  might  have  antagonized  by 


36  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

the  force  of  his  logic  in  pressing  his  Calvinistic 
views  would  find  their  hearts  melted  and  tender 
under  the  influence  of  his  closing  prayer.  His 
Troy  people  appreciated  his  ability  in  the  pulpit, 
and  were  responsive  to  his  preaching. 

Before  his  first  year  was  over,  the  country  was 
in  the  awful  throes  of  civil  war,  and  he  was 
a  leader  in  loyalty,  and  in  opposition  to  slavery. 
He  preached  a  very  strong  sermon  on  "  The 
Ground  of  Submission  to  Civil  Authority."  In 
the  course  of  his  argument  he  said :  "  Rather 
than  have  this  rebellion  a  success  may  a  half  a 
million  loyal  hearts  give  their  life  blood — give 
it  freely  and  give  it  all.  Rather  than  have  it  a 
success  may  every  minister  in  the  land  leave  the 
peaceful  walks  in  which  he  is  now  pursuing  his 
holy  calling,  and  toughen  the  sinews,  harden 
the  muscles,  and  inure  himself  to  hardships  so 
as  to  do  and  dare  and  die  like  other  men,  on  the 
battlefield.  Rather  than  have  it  a  success,  I 
would  gladly  lay  this  body  gashed  and  mangled 
in  the  enemies'  trenches,  and  wish  I  had  a 
thousand  more  to  lay  beside  it."  He  closed  his 
sermon  with  these  words :  "  This  rebellion  will 
be  worth  all  its  suppression  will  cost,  if  it  clears 
the  atmosphere  of  all  doubt  as  to  the  power  and 
authority  of  government,  restores  our  respect  for 
rulers,  by  giving  them  their  high  position  as 
ordained  by  Heaven,  and  leads  us  to  submit  to 
every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake — '  to 
fear  God  and  honor  the  king.'  " 


TROY— PITTSBURGH— MARQUETTE  37 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  churches 
seeking  for  pastors  feel  a  little  more  liberty  in 
approaching  an  assistant  pastor  than  one  who 
has  been  a  long  time  settled  in  his  parish.  It  is 
natural  that  they  should  recognize  an  imperma- 
nency  in  such  relations,  and  that  the  man  occu- 
pying such  a  position  should  desire  the  larger 
liberty  gained  in  the  transfer  to  the  full  charge 
of  a  parish.  It  was  not  possible  for  Herrick 
Johnson  to  be  let  alone.  He  had,  during  his 
short  ministry,  already  made  too  broad  a  mark, 
and  taken  too  high  a  stand,  to  be  lost  sight  of. 
Finally  a  very  prominent  church  in  the  great 
city  of  Pittsburgh  (the  Third  Presbyterian), 
which  had  lost  its  able  pastor,  Dr.  Henry  Ken- 
dall, by  his  transference  to  the  secretaryship  in 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions — a  position  which 
he  filled  until  his  death  with  great  distinction  and 
signal  devotion  to  the  Church  and  its  Master — 
had  its  attention  called  to  Herrick  Johnson,  who 
had  been  only  two  and  a  half  years  out  of  semi- 
nary, but  who  had  made  full  proof  of  his  min- 
istry. He  was  called  in  December,  1862,  and 
on  January  11,  1863,  was  installed  pastor.  It 
was  a  very  inviting  and  important  field  for  so 
young  a  man,  but  he  showed  no  immaturity. 
Through  God's  blessing  he  stood  equal  to  the 
position. 

''  Great  doors  and  effectual "  were  opened  to 
him  at  once.    The  church  was  made  up  of  some 


38  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

of  the  finest  men  and  women  of  the  city,  and 
large  numbers  of  young  men  rallied  around  the 
young  pastor,  attracted  not  only  by  his  youth, 
but  by  his  marked  ability,  his  genial  spirit,  and 
his  great-heartedness.  He  had  singularly 
marked  qualities  to  lead  young  men — strength, 
enthusiasm,  a  lofty  purpose,  a  deep  Christian 
experience,  and  a  strong  love  for  his  fellows. 
The  young  men  leaped  to  his  standard  like  the 
soldiers  to  the  white-plumed  Henry  of  Navarre. 
Institutions  of  learning  summoned  him  to  ad- 
dress them  at  their  commencements,  and  a  paper 
called  the  Risks  of  Thinking,  which  he  delivered 
before  the  Literary  Societies  of  Jefferson  Col- 
lege during  the  first  year  of  his  pastorate  in 
Pittsburgh,  awakened  especial  attention.  His  own 
college  (Hamilton)  called  him  the  same  season 
to  their  commencement  to  address  the  graduating 
class. 

But  in  October  of  that  year,  the  fine  old  build- 
ing of  the  Third  Church  was  burned,  and  all  the 
cares  incident  to  such  a  great  loss  were  suddenly 
heaped  upon  the  young  pastor.  It  was  an  emer- 
gency to  which  he  proved  himself  equal,  and 
the  members  of  his  great  church  realized  that 
they  had  a  man  at  their  head.  They  determined 
not  to  re-roof  the  old  walls  of  the  building,  but 
to  build  a  new  and  beautiful  church  edifice. 
They  did  not,  however,  make  this  misfortune  an 
excuse  for  not  contributing  to  the  great  causes 
to  which  their  church  was  committed.     Herrick 


TROY— PITTSBURGH— MARQUETTE  39 

urged  them  not  to  let  up  on  their  beneficences.  As 
a  result  they  subscribed  that  very  season  over 
two  thousand  dollars  to  help  endow  the  Board  of 
Publication,  and  when  the  time  came  for  their 
annual  contribution  to  Home  Missions,  they  gave 
over  four  thousand  dollars !  At  the  same  time 
Pittsburgh  was  the  very  centre  of  the  great 
patriotic  United  States  Christian  Commission, 
which  brought  vast  numbers  of  Christians  of  all 
denominations  together  to  minister  to  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  volun- 
teers. The  New  York  Evangelist  of  May,  '64, 
stated  that  one  of  the  largest  meetings  ever  held 
in  Pittsburgh  was  one  held  in  Dr.  Patton's 
church.  It  was  the  second  of  a  series  of  meet- 
ings on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Christian 
Commission  in  connection  with  the  great  national 
subscription  of  one  million  dollars.  The  Rev. 
Herrick  Johnson  presided. 

He  had  been  now  only  four  years  out  of  the 
theological  seminary.  He  was  still  a  young  man, 
except  in  the  strong,  capable  way  he  met  his 
public  duties,  which  placed  him  in  the  forefront 
of  the  forceful  citizens  of  the  great  city.  The 
work  of  the  Christian  Commission  in  minister- 
ing to  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  appealed 
to  him  very  strongly  and  was  specially  congenial 
to  his  great  patriotism  and  large-hearted  Chris- 
tian philanthropy.  He  did  not  spare  himself. 
Aside  from  the  large  demands  of  his  public  work, 
he  daily  worked  in  the  wards  of  the  hospitals. 


40  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

He  wrote  letters  for  the  wounded  boys  to  their 
friends  at  home ;  he  pointed  them  to  Jesus,  he 
prayed  with  the  dying.  Possibly  it  was  this  that 
brought  on  a  severe  attack  of  diphtheria,  which 
laid  him  aside  for  several  months,  and  his  de- 
voted people,  in  the  midst  of  their  sacrifice  for 
the  country  and  the  building  of  their  new  church, 
and  despite  the  fact  that  they  had  given  him 
two  thousand  dollars  to  help  him  and  Mrs.  John- 
son to  go  into  housekeeping,  gave  him  three 
thousand  dollars  more  to  take  him  to  Europe  and 
to  recuperate  from  his  severe  illness.  Mrs. 
Johnson  accompanied  her  husband,  and  they  re- 
turned October  lo,  1865,  and  at  once  plunged 
into  the  great  work  of  a  pastorate  in  a  city  such 
as  Pittsburgh  was  in  those  strenuous  times.  In 
response  to  an  invitation  given  to  him  about  this 
time  to  address  the  Pittsburgh  Temperance 
League,  Herrick  so  treated  the  subject  that  a 
local  newspaper  stated  that  he  *'  surpassed  his 
usual  powerful  style  of  oratory,  and  delivered 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  impressive  lectures 
we  have  ever  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing."  It 
was  while  preparing  this  lecture,  as  he  sat  at 
his  desk  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  that  he  felt 
for  the  first  time  (as  he  told  me  afterwards) 
the  force  of  the  argument  which  we  had  often 
had  with  him  against  his  smoking.  **  If  there  is 
any  force  in  the  point  which  I  have  just  made 
in  favor  of  temperance,  it  applies  to  this  cigar 
which    I    am    smoking."      He   arose    from   his 


TROY— PITTSBURGH— MARQUETTE   41 

chair  and  flung  the  cigar  into  the  fire,  and  never 
smoked  again.  Such  an  action  was  characteristic 
of  the  man. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  tell  the  full  story  of 
his  "  labors  oft "  in  his  Pittsburgh  parish.  In 
Synod  and  in  General  Assembly  also  he  dis- 
tinguished himself,  where  it  was  said  of  him 
that  "  more  like  an  ideal  leader  of  the  Church 
of  the  West,  is  the  pastor  of  the  Third  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  who,  with  his  Elder  Judge  Wil- 
liams, forms  one  of  the  strongest  delegations 
sent  from  any  Presbytery."  But  we  must  refer 
here  to  a  signal  tribute  to  the  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  by  his  appointment  to  address  the 
closing  gathering  of  the  United  States  Christian 
Commission  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  W^ashington,  February  ii, 
1866.  '*  The  Assembly  was  composed  of  the 
distinguished  and  honored  of  the  land,  repre- 
senting perhaps  more  fully  and  truly  the  powers 
which  wield  our  great  nation  than  any  similar 
assembly  ever  convened  in  our  country's  his- 
tory. The  Hall  was  draped  in  tender  reference 
to  the  memory  of  the  beloved  dead."  We  boys 
of  Hamilton  College  and  Auburn  Seminary  were 
very  proud  of  our  representative  and  fellow  stu- 
dent standing  there  that  day,  a  peer  with  all 
those  great  men,  delivering  his  eloquent,  thrill- 
ing address.  A  further  honor  awaited  him, 
for  after  an  address  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society  of  the  Western  Reserve  College,  June  25, 


4^  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

1867,  the  trustees  conferred  on  him  the  title  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity. 

Soon  after  that  it  became  evident  that  the 
health  of  Mrs.  Johnson  w3iS  not  equal  to  the 
peculiarly  trying  climate  of  Pittsburgh.  Her 
physicians  declared  that  to  save  her  life  she  must 
leave  the  city  at  once.  It  v^^as  a  sore  trial  all 
around.  The  pastor  and  church  had  been  bound 
together  by  great  soul-stirring  times  in  the 
progress  of  the  war.  A  great  revival  had  been 
granted  them ;  large  numbers  had  united  v^ith  the 
church,  and  a  great  army  of  young  men  had 
rallied  around  him.  The  farewell  meeting  of 
the  church  on  Sabbath  morning  and  the  address 
to  the  young  men  in  the  evening  marked  how 
high  the  tide  of  deep  feeling  and  sorrow  had 
risen.  During  the  five  years  of  his  ministry  his 
church  had  made  an  advance  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  per  cent,  on  its  various  causes  of 
Christian  benevolence  and  an  advance  of  over 
five  hundred  per  cent,  on  its  voluntary  contribu- 
tions to  other  causes,  and  that  while  engaged  in 
building  a  costly  church  edifice.  Those  two  fare- 
well services,  especially  the  one  in  the  evening, 
when  the  great  congregation  was  composed  al- 
most entirely  of  young  men,  were  remembered 
for  long  years  afterwards  and  are  still  tenderly 
recalled  by  those  of  the  number  now  living. 
They  were  well-nigh  heart-rending.  Those  who 
have  never  seen  Dr.  Johnson,  save  in  the  vehe- 
mence of  public  debate  in  Church  Courts  on  some 


TROY— PITTSBURGH— MARQUETTE  43 

great  question,  can  have  little  idea  of  the  ten- 
derness of  his  heart,  and  the  way  he  drew  men 
to  him — especially  young  men — as  with  hoops  of 
steel. 

There  are  middle-aged  men,  pastors  of  im- 
portant churches,  professors  of  theological  semi- 
naries, and  men  at  the  head  of  great  business 
enterprises,  who  were  then  parishioners  of  Dr. 
Herrick  Johnson.  And  these  men  when  they 
heard  of  his  lamented  death  recalled  away  from 
1867  the  precious  memories  of  his  ministry 
among  them  with  warm  and  tender  feeling,  par- 
ticularly that  notable  farewell  service,  which 
almost  broke  their  hearts.  The  Pittsburgh  press 
expressed,  on  every  side,  the  universal  sorrow 
over  his  going.  "  An  event  which  is  regarded 
by  Christians  of  every  name  as  a  misfortune  to 
the  city."  The  people  of  the  Third  Church 
offered  Dr.  Johnson  a  long  leave  of  absence, 
but  in  the  uncertain  state  of  Mrs.  Johnson's 
health  it  was  not  clear  that  it  would  ever  be 
safe  or  desirable  to  bring  her  back  to  the  smoky 
atmosphere.  So,  and  being  unwilling  to  keep 
them  in  a  state  of  suspense,  he  pressed  his  resig- 
nation, which  was,  finally,  but  sorrowfully  ac- 
cepted. The  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Evangelist  said :  "  None  who  have  heard  him 
need  be  told  of  his  power  as  an  orator,  and  in 
regard  to  his  constancy  in  labor  we  need  only 
say  that  during  the  revival  in  this  city  last  winter 
he  preached  for  several  months  daily  with  almost 


U  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

no  help  from  any  one.  His  church  ranks  second 
in  the  New  School  body,  in  point  of  liberality, 
yielding  only  to  that  of  Dr.  Adams  of  New  York 
City." 

It  was  decided  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson 
should  go  to  Marquette,  on  Lake  Superior,  for 
the  winter,  and  a  small  church  being  at  that  time 
without  a  pastor,  he  was  invited  to  supply  the 
pulpit.  The  change  from  the  smoky  at- 
mosphere of  Pittsburgh  to  the  absolutely 
pure,  clear,  and  bracing  air  of  Lake  Su- 
perior was  most  beneficial  to  both  the  preacher 
and  his  wife.  Undoubtedly  it  was  the  principal 
cause  of  prolonging  Mrs.  Johnson's  most  valu- 
able life  for  the  many  years  in  which  they  were 
subsequently  enabled  to  live  together.  To  Dr. 
Johnson  it  was  a  great  tonic  also.  He  wrote 
most  enthusiastically  of  it.  ''  Come  up  here  and 
snuff  this  bracing  air,"  he  wrote.  "  It  is  more 
Superior  than  the  Lake — grammar  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding.  I  have  been  out  in  it, 
this  morning,  taking  a  lung-bath.  Whew  !  Two 
or  three  good  draughts  of  it  fairly  lift  one  off 
the  earth,  making  his  feet  like  hinds'  feet.  It 
gives  lightness  and  buoyancy  to  the  frame,  just 
as  a  joy  does  to  the  spirit.  To  a  denizen  of 
sooty  Pittsburgh,  who  has  been  a  dweller  there 
in  the  midst  of  the  cloud,  and  who  has  just  come 
out  of  its  blackness  of  darkness,  this  new  at- 
mosphere is  especially  an  exhilaration  and  he 
goes  rollicking  in  it  with  infinite  zest."     Later 


TROY— PITTSBURGH— MARQUETTE  45 

on  he  wrote  of  the  deepening  of  religious  interest 
there  to  his  great  joy.  He  loved  nothing  so 
much  as  a  genuine  spiritual  awakening.  He 
flung  himself  into  this  movement  with  the  great- 
est ardor.  "  Now,"  he  writes,  "  religion  is  the 
topic  of  conversation  everywhere.  On  the 
streets,  across  the  counters,  and  in  the  work- 
shops and  in  the  drinking  saloons  words  are  ex- 
changed about  the  way  to  be  saved.  Even  as 
at  Ephesus,  *  the  Name  of  the  Lord  is  magni- 
fied,' and  mightily  grows  the  word  of  God  and 
prevails.  Public  hops  go  begging  for  patronage. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  is  crowded  every  night. 
The  Baptists  and  the  Methodists  are  equal 
sharers  in  the  great  blessing.  Young  men, — and 
the  village  swarms  with  them, — are  standing 
up  for  Jesus.  Strong  men  are  bowed  down  and 
led  of  God  like  little  children.  Mad  men  who  have 
fought  against  God  and  found  out  their  shame, 
are  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  clothed  and  in 
their  right  mind.  Professional  and  business  men 
have  sought  and  found  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 
There  is  a  solemn  awe  in  our  public  assemblies. 
In  the  hushed  stillness,  it  seems  as  if  blinded 
sinners  have  caught  the  sound  of  the  footfall  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  passing  by,  and  have  cried  out 
to  Him,  and  He  has  stood  still  and  bidden  them 
come  to  him,  and  they  have  received  their  sight." 
He  wrote  to  me  also  of  the  joy  that  filled  his 
soul.  He  would  go  down  on  the  shore  of  the 
Lake  for  solitude  and  prayer  and  praise.     He 


46  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

walked  that  shore  in  a  sort  of  ecstasy,  going  over 
in  his  mind  the  Une  of  his  thought  for  the  even- 
ing service  and  swinging  his  arms  and  shouting 
his  praise.  It  was  only  a  short  time  before  this 
that  the  now  most  familiar  hymn,  "  He  leadeth 
me,  O  blessed  thought,"  had  appeared,  and  dur- 
ing the  great  revival  of  1857  it  was  taken  up 
and  sung  throughout  the  whole  land.  Dr.  John- 
son greatly  loved  it.  He  would  go  up  and  down 
the  Lake  shores,  with  only  the  great  waters  list- 
ening, and  sing  it  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  Those 
were  days  of  rapture,  and  he  gave  to  his  people 
at  night  the  blessing  that  filled  his  soul  those 
days  by  the  great  waters.  Later  on  (in  March) 
he  wrote :  *'  The  religious  interest  commenced 
just  prior  to  the  Week  of  Prayer  and  has  been 
sustained  with  great  power  ever  since.  Yester- 
day we  celebrated  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper, 
and  seventy-eight  stood  before  the  altar,  to  make 
public  profession  of  their  faith  and  dedicate 
themselves  to  God.  It  was  a  scene  not  often 
to  be  witnessed,  and  never  to  be  forgotten." 

Shortly  after  this  Dr.  Johnson  received  a  unan- 
imous call  from  the  First  Church  of  Philadel- 
phia, for  so  many  years  the  scene  of  the  honored 
and  fruitful  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Albert  Barnes. 
Mr.  Barnes  was  himself  deeply  interested  in  Dr. 
Johnson's  accepting  the  call,  which  we  shall  con- 
sider in  a  later  chapter.  But  while  waiting  at  Mar- 
quette through  the  beautiful  summer  weather, 
a  great  fire,  for  so  small  a  city,  consumed  among 


TROY— PITTSBURGH— MARQUETTE  47 

many  other  treasures  all  Dr.  Johnson's  sermons, 
all  his  MSS.  of  college  and  theological  seminary- 
notes,  all  his  prize  essays  in  college — in  fine, 
everything.  Thus  he  stood  facing  the  responsi- 
bilities of  a  new  parish  in  a  great  city,  with 
none  of  the  material  which  had  accumulated  in 
his  active  ministry  to  help  him  along. 
Here,  too,  he  showed  his  virile  manhood. 
He  was  not  a  whiner.  He  faced  it  as 
a  call  from  God.  In  addressing  a  meeting  of 
members  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  at  Marquette,  who 
had  lost  their  building,  he  most  urgently  called 
upon  them  to  meet  their  misfortunes  bravely, 
and  be  prepared  to  make  sacrifices,  and  to  put  up 
an  edifice  greatly  in  advance  of  the  old  one.  He 
began  his  new  work  as  successor  of  the  Rev. 
Albert  Barnes  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Philadelphia,  June,  1868. 


Ill 

PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874 

"Whose  high  endeavors  are  an  inward  light 
That  makes  the  path  before  him  always  bright? 

More  skilful  in  self-knowledge,  even  more  pure 
As  tempted  more,  more  able  to  endure 
As  more  exposed  to  suffering  and  distress, 
Thence,  also,  more  ahve  to  tenderness. 

But  who  if  he  be  called  upon  to  face 

Some  awful  moment,  to  which  Heaven  has  joined 

Great  issues,  good  or  bad,  for  human  kind, 

Is  happy  as  a  lover,  and  attired 

With  sudden  brightness,  like  a  man  inspired; 

And  through  the  heat  of  conflict,  keeps  the  law 

In  calmness  made  and  sees  what  he  foresaw; 

Or  if  an  unexpected  call  succeed. 

Come  when  it  will,  is  equal  to  the  need." 

— Wordsworth. 

IT  will  help  us  to  see  Herrick  Johnson  more 
clearly  if  we  note  him  on  the  threshold  of 
his  larger  field,  particularly  as  an  active 
promoter  of  the  work  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  as  a  great  whole,  in  the  union  between 
the  O.  S.  and  the  N.  S.  Churches,  which  took 
place  in  1869.  Many  things  had  contributed  to 
his  very  decided  growth.  His  work  among  the 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  in  the  Christian  Com- 

48 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  49 

mission  Hospitals,  his  intense  patriotism,  his 
deep  anxiety  over  the  serious  illness  of  his  be- 
loved wife,  his  sorrowful  experience  in  tearing 
himself  away  from  the  very  dear  church  at 
Pittsburgh  on  account  of  her  health;  his  great 
enjoyment  of  the  air  and  scenery  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior; his  rich  experience  of  the  unique  revival 
in  the  little  church  at  IMarquette ;  the  loss  of  all 
his  MSS.  by  fire,  which  brought  him  to  the  heroic 
acceptance  of  a  most  trying  providence  just  as 
he  was  about  to  take  up  a  new  work  in  the  great 
city  of  Philadelphia,  were  all  wrought  into 
the  very  fibre  of  his  manhood,  and  helped  to 
make  him  a  more  sympathetic  man,  a  broader 
man,  a  man  of  clearer  vision,  a  more  conse- 
crated man,  and  a  man  of  larger  liberty,  as  well 
as  to  specially  fit  him  for  a  wider  sphere  of 
usefulness  in  the  great  United  Presbyterian 
Church. 

This  was  most  noticeable  in  the  active  debates 
in  the  Synod  and  in  the  General  Assembly,  by  his 
hearty  and  enthusiastic  advocacy  of  the  Union  of 
the  two  Assemblies — the  O.  S.  and  the  N.  S. 
He  faced  the  opposition  to  it  very  vigorously. 
He  vehemently  insisted  that  there  must  be  no 
surrender  of  such  liberty  in  interpreting  the 
standards  as  the  New  School  Presbyterian 
Church  had  enjoyed.  One  of  the  religious 
papers,  in  reference  to  the  debate  on  the  Basis  of 
Union  in  the  New  School  Assembly,  stated  that 
"  Dr.  Johnson's   earnest  plea   for  liberty  came 


50  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

with  all  the  more  force  because  of  his  assent  to 
the  imputation  of  being  Old  School  in  Theology. 
Most  fervently  did  our  hearts  go  with  him  when 
he  exclaimed :  "  Perish  the  union  if  such  free- 
dom is  sacrificed  to  obtain  it."  In  the  same 
address  he  said,  *'  There  are  differences  between 
the  Old  School  and  the  New  School.  They  do 
really  exist.  And  they  ought  to  be  recognized 
and  acknowledged.  To  my  mind  they  are  not 
differences  that  justify  the  continued  separation 
of  the  two  great  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  I  confidently  believe  that  they  are  con- 
sistent with  a  hearty  and  harmonious  union. 
Perhaps  they  could  not  be  better  expressed  than 
in  the  words  so  happily  used  by  Dr.  Adams 
yesterday,  in  his  address  to  the  other  Assembly 
as  the  delegate  from  this  body.  '  You  said  that 
you  are  the  conservators  of  orthodoxy — we  the 
conservators  of  liberty.'  Now  in  the  proposed 
Reunion  on  the  Basis  as  presented,  is  it  expected 
that  the  Old  School  are  to  yield  their  conserva- 
tion of  orthodoxy  ?  No !  Are  we  to  yield  our 
conservation  of  liberty  ?  No  !  Perish  the  union 
rather  than  that.  God  forbid  the  union  forever 
rather  than  that. 

*'  A  liberty  within  the  limits  of  sound  Calvinism, 
a  liberty  always  enjoyed  in  the  body,  and  exer- 
cised to-day  fully  as  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  it 
is  neither  our  wish  nor  our  purpose  to  surrender. 
Let  it  be  distinctly  understood.  There  should 
be  no  misapprehension  in  regard  to  the  matter. 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  51 

Let  it  go  forth  to  the  other  Branch  of  the  Church 
and  to  the  world.  Not  a  dozen  votes  in  this 
Assembly,  not  a  half-dozen  Presbyteries  in  our 
whole  connection  would  favor  this  Basis  of  Re- 
union, if  its  acceptance  and  adoption  were  thought 
to  involve  the  giving  up  of  this  liberty.  Such 
liberty,  e.g.,  as  recognizes  and  freely  allows  those 
views  in  theology  that  are  held  by  Albert  Barnes. 
Albert  Barnes !  revered,  honored,  beloved,  rip- 
ened now  to  a  golden  completeness,  ready  to  go 
to  his  grave  in  a  full  age  like  as  a  shock  of  corn 
Cometh  in,  in  its  season,  and  ever  presenting  him- 
self to  my  thoughts  as  of  all  men  in  the  world, 
the  guileless  man.  Our  brethren  take  us  as  we 
are,  we  in  like  manner  take  them.  Their  ortho- 
doxy is  to  put  no  clamps  upon  our  hitherto 
enjoyed  liberty.  Our  exercise  of  liberty  is  not 
to  contaminate,  nor  pervert,  nor  in  any  way  im- 
pair their  orthodoxy.  Liberty  and  orthodoxy 
meet  together.  Liberty  and  orthodoxy  kiss  each 
other.  Henceforth  they  are  to  live  in  the  same 
house,  to  sit  at  the  same  table,  to  worship  at 
the  same  altars,  to  work  in  the  same  groves,  to 
evangelize  through  the  same  organization. 
Henceforth  they  are  to  go  hand  in  hand  in 
mutual  affection,  fidelity,  and  trust.  I  thank  God 
for  it."  "And  let  it  be  the  fervent,  earnest, 
constant  prayer  of  all  hearts  that  we  go  forth 
for  our  country *s  and  the  world's  evangelization. 
One  church,  banded  and  bonded  and  welded 
together,  holding  the  Cross,  held  by  the  Cross, 


52  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

irradiated  by  the  glories  of  it,  stirred  by  the 
inspirations  of  it,  our  hearts  swelling  with  the 
memories  of  it,  and  the  outreach  of  that  an- 
guished heart  of  love  that  broke  on  Calvary, 
when  Jesus  with  outstretched  arms  embraced  a 
dying  world." 

In  the  mean  time  while  all  this  discussion  was 
going  on,  and  committees  were  meeting,  Dr. 
Johnson  was  intensely  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  his  field  in  the  First  Church.  It  was  a 
great  historic  church  and  had  been  distinguished, 
for  the  thirty-seven  years  previous  to  his  coming, 
by  the  presence  in  the  pastorate  of  the  distin- 
guished Rev.  Albert  Barnes,  whose  annotation  of 
various  parts  of  Scripture,  called  Barnes^  Notes, 
had  a  very  wide  circulation,  more  than  a  mil- 
lion copies  being  sold  before  the  last  revised 
edition  was  issued  in  1872.  These  gave  the 
author  great  eminence,  together  with  the  fact 
that  he  was  tried  for  heresy  on  account  of  cer- 
tain passages  in  his  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  and  acquitted.  "  He  was  leader 
of  the  New  School  Presbyterians  when  soon  after 
his  trial  a  definitive  rupture  occurred  in  the 
denomination."  It  was  undoubtedly  not  only  an 
interesting  fact  that  his  colleague  years  after- 
ward, Dr.  Johnson,  was  one  of  the  foremost 
leaders  to  reunite  these  two  bodies,  but  it  was, 
as  we  know,  a  peculiar  joy  to  him  to  serve  Mr. 
Barnes  and  the  United  Church  in  this  way. 
While  it  was  a  church  of  a  great  history,  the  poor 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  53 

health  of  Mr.  Barnes  and  his  failing  eyesight  and 
the  great  change  in  the  character  of  the  popu- 
lation immediately  surrounding  the  church,  had 
caused  a  number  of  problems,  as  to  its  future. 
It  had  become  a  "  downtown  church."  But 
quite  a  large  number  of  its  members,  devotedly 
attached  to  Mr.  Barnes  and  to  the  church,  either 
refused  to  move  away  from  its  surroundings,  or 
in  moving  away,  still  retained  their  membership 
in  the  old  church. 

It  was  to  the  upbuilding  of  this  old  and 
greatly  honored  church  that  Dr.  Johnson  de- 
voted his  best  energies,  recognizing  at  the  same 
time  the  fact  that  his  being  the  pastor  of  that 
church  called  for  his  co-operation  with  others  in 
the  great  work  opening  before  the  whole  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  the  country.  He  wrote  al- 
most constantly  for  the  religious  press.  As 
chairman  of  the  Synods  Committee  on  Home 
Missions,  he  was  so  surprised  and  shocked  at  the 
story  told  by  the  statistical  records  as  to  the  re- 
sponse of  the  churches  in  the  Synod  to  the 
call  of  Home  Missions,  that  his  report  to  the 
Synod  thrilled  it,  and  roused  the  Presbyterians 
of  the  state.  He  declared  that  the  "  figures 
were  startling  and  as  shameful  as  they  were 
startling."  It  shows  the  tact  with  which  Dr. 
Johnson  presented  the  humiliating  condition  of 
the  interests  of  Home  Missions,  that  instead  of 
arousing  antagonism  there  was  a  hearty  and 
general    acknowledgment   of   delinquency.      He 


54  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

espoused  most  enthusiastically  the  Y.M.C.A. 
movement  in  the  city.  He  called  the  city's  at- 
tention to  the  week  of  prayer,  then  near  at  hand. 
He  began  a  series  of  sermons  to  young  men, 
especially  on  Temperance  and  Amusements. 
There  was  a  great  interest  developed  in  his 
churches  at  the  time  of,  and  after,  the  Week  of 
Prayer.  He  held  services  every  night.  At  the 
autumn  communion  twenty-four  new  members 
united  with  the  church,  four  on  profession  of 
faith,  and  twenty  by  letter.  On  the  first  com- 
munion after  the  Week  of  Prayer,  forty- 
three  persons  united  with  the  church,  thirty- 
three  by  profession  and  ten  by  letter.  "  No  such 
ingathering  had  taken  place  in  this  church  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century." 

Then  came  the  great  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly  at  the  Church  of  the  Covenant  in  New 
York  City  with  a  corresponding  meeting  of  the 
Old  School  Branch  of  the  Church  at  the  Brick 
Church,  with  the  one  burning  question  of  the 
"  Union "  before  both  Assemblies ;  and  after 
those  speeches  in  its  advocacy  uttered  by  Dr. 
Johnson,  to  which  I  have  already  referred  and 
from  which  I  have  quoted.  The  Basis  for  Union 
was  adopted  by  both  Assemblies  and  sent  out  by 
them  to  the  Presbyteries  for  ratification,  with  the 
well-known  and  glorious  result.  After  union 
was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Dr.  Johnson  wrote  a 
rousing  article  on  '' x\fter  Reunion — What?" 
Everything  that  he  wrote  and  said  was  rousing 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  55 

and  ringing,  for  all  his  powers  were  profoundly 
quickened  for  the  work  in  hand. 

In  this  article  he  wrote :  "  It  has  been  claimed 
to  be  the  ushering  in  of  a  new  era.  Shall  it 
be  seen  that  we  have  been  imitating  the  example 
of  some  author  who  thunders  only  in  the  index? 
Is  our  apparent  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  to 
have  the  *  lame  and  impotent '  conclusion  of  a 
great  zeal  for  the  glory  of  denominationalism? 
Or  is  there  to  issue  out  of  reunion  that  which 
shall  be  a  justification  of  our  joy  at  its  coming, 
and  the  fulfilment  of  the  best  prophecy  on  record 
of  its  beneficent  results?  To  be  content  with 
making  just  such  record  of  increase  and  efficiency 
of  toil  and  triumph  united  as  we  made  apart, 
will  not  answer.  Something  better  and  higher 
and  grander  is  demanded  of  us.  The  United 
Church  must  be  what  the  two  branches  of  the 
Church  never  were — in  life,  in  labor,  in  liberality. 
The  old  standards  of  Christian  giving  must  be 
lifted  away  from  their  present  altitude  and  set 
furlongs  higher  in  the  scale  of  obligation.  The 
old  grooves  of  Christian  eflfort  must  give  way 
to  others  in  and  through  which  there  may  be 
room  for  the  play  and  sweep  of  greatly  vitalized 
and  enlarged  activities ;  while  our  life — our 
spiritual  life  with  God  and  in  God — must  be 
more  vivid  and  intensely  real.  It  must  be  closer 
and  deeper,  increasing  the  clearness  of  our  con- 
ception and  the  firmness  of  our  grasp,  and  the 
fervor  of  our  love  of  things  spiritual.    First  of  all 


56  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

therefore,  paramount  to  every  other  thing  we 
have  to  do,  vital,  in  order  to  the  gathering  of 
such  fruit  of  Union  as  may  be,  and  ought  to  be, 
brought  forth  to  the  glory  of  God,  everywhere 
throughout  our  entire  borders,  by  the  least  and 
the  greatest,  by  every  individual  member  of  our 
communion,  there  should  be  renewed  commit- 
ment  and  consecration  to  Christ."  Undoubtedly 
many  noble  souls  felt  in  the  same  way  about  the 
spirit  and  purpose  of  the  United  Church,  for  its 
record  since  the  Union  has  been  very  high,  and 
has  showed  the  Church  nobly  responsive  to  the 
meaning  of  the  Divine  Call. 

I  have  quoted  quite  largely  from  Dr.  Johnson's 
article  "After  Reunion — What?"  in  order  to 
show  the  man  and  to  make  it  plain  how  gener- 
ously and  responsively  his  soul  leaped  to  the 
thought  of  the  glorious  possibilities  in  that  United 
Church.  As  if  he  were  speaking  through  a 
trumpet,  he  said,  "  Let  pastors  and  people  be 
urged  to  closet  themselves  with  God,  so  that  we 
shall  not  only  be  kept  from  the  pride  of  Babel  or 
Babylon  builders,  but  brought  into  such  close 
alliance  with  the  Master,  and  in  such  close  sym- 
pathy with  His  out-reaching  and  world-embrac- 
ing Spirit  as  our  Church  has  never  known." 

The  two  General  Assemblies  that  had  accepted 
The  Basis  for  Union  adjourned,  with  the  ratifi- 
cation by  the  Presbyteries  of  both  Branches  to 
meet  in  Pittsburgh  November  lo,  and  formally 
unite.     On  that  memorable  day  the  Old  School 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  57 

body,    emerging    from    the    First    Presbyterian 
Church,  met  the  New  School  body,  which  had 
marched  from  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  locking  arms  two  by  two,  an  Old  School  man 
and  a  New  School  man,  in  a  procession  of  more 
than  a  thousand,  they  moved  amid  the  cheers  of  a 
vast  concourse  of  people  through  the  streets,  back 
to  the  Third  Church,  where  as  they  filed  into 
and  settled  themselves  in  its  great  audience  room, 
the   Moderator  gave  out  the  grand  old  hymn, 
"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  Name."    There  was 
hardly  a  dry  eye  in  all  that  vast  congregation. 
The  United  Church  then  adjourned  to  hold  its 
first  Assembly  in  May,  1870,  in  the  historic  First 
Church  of  Philadelphia;  and  it  must  have  been 
particularly    interesting   and   gratifying   to   Dr. 
Johnson,  that  the  formal  Union  took  place  in  his 
old  church  in  Pittsburgh,  and  the  First  Assembly 
in    his    church    in    Philadelphia.      He    was    the 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  for 
the  reception  and  carrying  on  of  the  Assembly, 
and  showed  in  this  office  that  he  had  as  much 
business  and  executive  ability  as  he  had  power 
in  the  pulpit  and  influence  in  the  Assemblies. 
The  patience,  self-control,  and  good  cheer  with 
which  he  met  all  the  exacting  duties  of  his  posi- 
tion won  for  him  the  admiration  of  the  city  as 
well  as  the  Assembly.    "  Although  the  Assembly 
was  more  than  double  the  size  of  ordinary  As- 
semblies, every  arrangement  was  most  carefully 
and  systematically  made  by  Dr.  Johnson  and  his 


58  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

able  Committee  of  Arrangements.  No  other 
Assembly  was  ever  better  cared  for  in  advance. 
Dr.  Johnson  has  won  golden  opinion  from  ail 
for  his  patience,  activity,  and  his  courtesy,  but 
few  can  ever  know  how  much  of  his  habitual 
nervous  force  has  been  expended  in  caring  for 
this  Assembly." 

This  year  was  full  of  intense  activities.  Dr. 
Johnson  preached  a  series  of  notable  sermons 
from  which  ultimately  grew  his  very  vigorous 
and  attractive  book,  Christianity's  Challenge, 
followed  by  a  very  able  address  at  the  Anniver- 
sary of  Philadelphia's  Bible  Society.  Then  a 
memorial  sermon  at  the  death  of  his  great  prede- 
cessor— Albert  Barnes.  Then  an  address  before 
the  New  York  Association  of  Sunday  School 
Teachers.  "  Dr.  Johnson  evidently  impressed  his 
audience  with  the  belief  that  they  were  listening 
not  only  to  one  of  the  first  thinkers  on  this  great 
subject  in  this  or  any  country,  but  to  one  of  the 
truly  spiritual  divines  of  the  day."  Then  came  a 
protracted  discussion  on  the  wine  question  in 
which  he  took  the  ground  that  there  were  two 
kinds  of  wine  referred  to  in  the  Scriptures — a 
sweet  and  harmless  drink,  and  a  fermented  and 
alcoholic  one — and  urging  the  Christ  could  not 
have  made  nor  used  the  latter.  There  was  much 
earnest  argument,  not  in  the  long  run  productive 
of  the  greatest  good  to  the  Temperance  cause, 
and  ultimately  Dr.  Johnson  withdrew  his  claim, 
with    characteristic    honesty.      Then    came    the 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  59 

sixth  Anniversary  of  the  National  Temperance 
Society,  addressed  by  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Dodge,  Dr. 
T.  L.  Cuyler,  Dr.  T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  and  Dr. 
Johnson. 

Then  came  the  commencement  at  Hamilton 
College,  where  Dr.  Johnson  was  most  active,  and 
the  report  of  the  Committee  (of  which  Dr.  John- 
son was  chairman)   on  the  New  Hymn  Book. 
It   was    attacked    of    course, — no    New    Hymn 
Book  can  escape  that,— and  the  attack  and  criti- 
cism had  to  be  reviewed  and  answered  by  Dr. 
Johnson,    which    in    the   main    was    done   most 
satisfactorily,    and    the    New    Hymn    Book    re- 
ceived   the    General    Assembly's    endorsement. 
But  the  year  had  been  such  a  strain  upon  his 
nervous  force,  that  his  church  insisted  upon  his 
taking  a  long  vacation,  in  Europe,  in  the  spring 
of  1872.     The  Evangelist  made  the  accompany- 
ing  reference   to   his  going,    "We   have   much 
satisfaction   springing   from   a   sense   of   fitness 
of  things,  in  the  announcement  that  the  Pastor 
of    the    First    Presbyterian    Church    of    Phila- 
delphia,  Rev.   Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  is  about 
to  take  a  six  months'  respite  in  Europe,  and  this 
at  the  unanimous  wish  of  his  warmly  attached 
people."    Entering  that  field  just  before  the  de- 
struction by  fire  at  Marquette  of  all  his  sermons 
and  MSS,  *'he  succeeded  to  the  pulpit  of  the 
man  he  perhaps  most  venerated  in  all  the  Church, 
and  whose  fame  for  ability  and  cultured  resources 
was   world-wide.     The   field    was   certainly   no 


60  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

sinecure;  it  never  had  been  such;  and  now  for 
obvious  reasons,  its  demands  as  a  downtown 
church  with  more  than  an  uptown  prestige  were 
greater  than  ever  before  upon  him  who  should 
adequately  fill  its  pulpit  and  its  pews,  and  at  the 
same  time  make  good  the  large  place  of  Mr. 
Barnes  in  the  councils  of  the  Church,  and  at  a 
period  of  peculiarly  delicate  readjustments. 

'*  That  Dr.  Johnson  has  succeeded  in  abundantly 
satisfying  and  largely  increasing  his  congregation 
and  membership  in  spite  of  his  pulpit  and  library 
losses,  and  his  aptitude  for  outside  labor  of  all 
sorts,  incident  to  a  laborious  committeeman  or  a 
vigorous  pen  and  ink  tilt  with  the  ex-President 
of  Princeton  on  the  wine  question  is  just  cause 
for  congratulation  and  must  be  ascribed  to  ex- 
cellent qualities  of  endurance,  and  no  mistaken 
repute  for  power  in  the  pulpit.  He  has  succeeded 
in  a  great  work  and  we  are  sure  that  the  prayer 
of  his  people  and  of  a  host  of  friends  throughout 
the  Church  will  attend  him  and  his  wife  as  they 
now  voyage  from  our  shores  in  company  with 
Dr.  Cuyler  in  the  good  steamer  China." 

It  was  my  pleasure  to  sail  the  same  summer, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  not  knowing  when  they 
sailed  (April  29,  1872)  that  I  was  soon  to  follow 
them.  I  met  Dr.  Cuyler  in  London,  but  found  it 
very  difficult  to  cross  Dr.  Johnson's  divergent 
paths,  and  at  the  same  time  follow  out  my  plan. 
He  wrote  me  from  Innspruck :  "  How  pleased  and 
blest  was  I,  and  I  am  proving  it  by  improving 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  61 

the  first  opportunity  to  let  you  know  of  our 
movements.  Your  letter  reached  me  this  morn- 
ing just  as  we  are  starting  from  Innspruck  on 
our  tour  through  Switzerland  and  the  Tyrol.  We 
expect  to  be  in  Zermatt  about  the  20th  of  July, 
passing  along  from  here  through  the  Ober- 
Engadine  to  the  Julier  Pass,  seeing  something  of 
the  Splugen,  and  its  celebrated  Via  Mala,  down 
to  Regantz  and  so  on  to  Andermatt,  St.  Gothard, 
and  Furca.  From  Zermatt  we  now  expect  to 
make  the  pass  of  St.  Theodule  and  the  Via 
Aosta  and  Courmayeur  around  Mt.  Blanc  to 
Chamounix,  and  over  Tete  Noir  to  Martigny, 
then  to  Interlaken  by  the  Gemmi  Pass  and  to 
Lucerne  and  to  Brientz.  We  may  have  to  change 
our  plans,  but  in  any  event  I  think  we  shall  be  in 
Interlaken  and  Lucerne  somewhere  about 
August  1st.  Do  meet  us  if  possible.  In  great 
haste  but  in  great  affection,  Herrick." 

On  receipt  of  this  letter  I  planned  to  meet  him 
and  Mrs.  Johnson  at  Interlaken.  In  the  mean- 
time, meeting  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  Gridley  of  Buf- 
falo and  their  son  Charlie  and  Rev.  Fred  Ken- 
dall (son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kendall  of  the  Home 
Board),  we  joined  forces  for  a  tour  through  a 
part  of  Switzerland.  All  of  the  men  of  this 
party  were  graduates  of  Hamilton  College  and 
members  of  Alpha  Delta  Phi.  The  younger  men 
were  on  the  qui  vive  to  run  across  their  college 
friend,  the  Rev.  Maurice  Edwards,  for  so  many 
years  pastor  of  one  of  the  most  prosperous  Pres- 


62  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

byterian  churches  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.  Tourists 
will  understand  how  the  faces  of  every  group 
passed  were  scanned  for  friends.  We  had 
reached  the  quaint  and  lonely  Grimsel  Hospice 
and  were  in  our  rooms  preparing  for  dinner, 
when  I  heard  the  college  men  of  my  party  yell- 
ing like  mad,  and  pounding  away  at  the  man  they 
were  looking  for — Maurice  Edwards,  who  had 
suddenly  appeared  in  the  corridor.  As  I  stepped 
out  from  my  room,  towel  in  hand,  and  delighted 
with  their  joy,  I  heard  a  voice  cry  out  of  the 
dark  corridor,  ''  Hello,  there's  Charlie  Rob !  " 
It  was  Herrick,  who  was  taking  a  pedestrian 
tour  with  Edwards  from  Monte  Rosa,  by  Grim- 
sel Hospice,  and  had  stopped  there  just  to  rest 
for  an  hour.  It  was  now  his  and  my  turn  to  yell 
as  only  college  boys  know  how  to,  and  to  pound 
each  other.  Only  those  who  have  been  through 
a  similar  experience  can  imagine  our  delight. 
We  accompanied  Johnson  and  Edwards  for 
quite  a  little  way  up  the  zigzag  path,  singing 
our  old  familiar  college  songs  and  especially  our 
Alpha  Delta  Phi  songs,  and  then  parted  to  meet 
in  Interlaken. 

Both  parties  united  at  Interlaken,  putting  up 
at  the  Hotel  des  Alpes.  We  agreed  to  take 
turns  in  ordering  the  meals,  and  we  furbished 
up  our  long- forgotten  college  French  (poor  at 
the  best),  and  the  waiters  must  have  gone  about 
wild  over  our  attempts.  I  remember  Dr.  John- 
son said  to  a  waiter :    "  Do  you  speak  English  ? " 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  6^ 

"  No  English/'  "  Bring  us  some  bread,  then/' 
Mr.  Fred  Gridley,  who  had  been  longer  from 
his  college  French  than  the  rest  of  us,  in  his 
banking  business  at  Buffalo,  having  made  a 
most  elaborate  attempt  to  order  a  dinner  for  our 
party,  came  in  at  the  appointed  time  and,  seeing 
that  the  table  was  not  yet  spread,  said,  "  Hello! 
Dinner  n'est  par  ready,  eh?"  Dr.  Maurice  Ed- 
wards and  myself  are  the  only  ones  now  left  of 
that  merry,  happy  party.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
that  he  recalls  the  fun,  the  fellowship,  the  as- 
sociations, and  the  tours  with  a  very  warm  heart. 
It  was  a  summer  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  reached  their  home  in 
Philadelphia  after  six  months'  absence,  in- 
vigorated and  greatly  improved  in  health.  He 
found  the  Alpine  climbing  afforded  him  the  best 
physical  recuperation.  Among  the  first  things 
which  he  took  up  as  he  resumed  his  public  duties 
was  the  Board  of  Education,  to  help  students 
for  the  ministry,  who  had  no  means  or  insuffi- 
cient means  to  pursue  their  long  course  of  at 
least  seven  years.  Some  of  the  religious  papers 
attacked  the  whole  system  of  furnishing  aid  to 
poor  students.  Here  is  some  of  their  argument 
raised  against  it:  *' If  they  are  of  the  right 
metal,  such  stuff  as  the  Church  needs  for  lead- 
ership, they  will  get  through."  '*  Yes,"  Dr. 
Johnson  replied,  "  but  have  we  a  right  to  compel 
them  to  get  through  at  the  expense  of  precious 
years,  and  often  by  wear  and  strain  and  self- 


64  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

denial,  pinching,  starving,  killing  out  of  them 
the  very  spring  and  buoyancy  of  spirit  with 
which  they  ought  to  come  bounding  to  their 
work?  It  is  ah  very  well  to  talk  about  the 
'  discipline '  of  this  thing.  But  there  isn't  a 
father  in  this  land  who  would  compel  his  son 
wholly  to  work  his  way  through  college,  if  he 
had  the  means  to  help.  And  is  the  Church  to 
repeat  the  tyranny  of  the  old  Egyptian  task- 
masters ?  Will  she  expect  bricks  without  straw  ? 
Shall  we  urge  the  indifferent  and  unfit  quality 
of  the  Board's  Candidates  and  say  they  are  a 
company  of  ne'er-do-wells?  Probably  there  is 
no  impression  more  prevalent  in  certain  quar- 
ters. There  certainly  is  none  more  utterly  and 
mischievously  erroneous.  Many  of  the  most 
widely  influential  and  gifted  ministers  of  our 
Church  were  assisted  in  their  course  of  educa- 
tion. Cavilling,  carping  sceptics  concerning  this 
matter  would  be  astonished  at  their  roll-call." 

Dr.  Johnson  was  thoroughly  aroused  by  these 
attacks  upon  the  Board  of  Education,  and  he 
threw  himself  into  the  thick  of  the  fight,  to  de- 
fend and  strengthen  this  cause.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  that  the  present  unquestioned  hold 
which  this  Board  of  Education  has  to-day  on 
the  heart  of  the  Church  is  the  fine  fruit  of  Dr. 
Johnson's  generous,  spirited,  and  very  able  re- 
ply to  charges  made  against  the  very  system. 
He  kept  it  up,  with  blow  after  blow,  until  he 
was  the  master  of  the  field.     It  is  due  to  his 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  65 

priceless  memory  that  this  should  be  thoroughly 
understood. 

In  looking  over  the  minutes  and  report  of  the 
General  Assemblies  for  1873  and  1874,  one  can- 
not help  noting  with  admiration  the  practical 
quality  of  Dr.  Johnson's  addresses,  which  are  at 
this  time  and  further  on  very  frequent.  He  had 
the  mind  of  a  business  man  as  well  as  that  of  a 
great  preacher.  He  was  possessed  of  broad  sym- 
pathies, and  in  all  his  many  and  impressive 
speeches  took  the  wide  and  generous  side.  He 
believed  that  true  soundness  in  the  faith  was 
fairly  conditioned  on  such  liberty  as  he  fought  for 
in  coming  into  the  United  Church. 

He  might  have  been  narrowly  sectarian  had  it 
not  been  for  his  fair-mindedness  and  his  great 
heart.  We  used  to  call  him  "  Greatheart." 
Here  is  a  letter  to  me  from  him,  written  soon 
after  his  and  Mrs.  Johnson's  return  from  that 
European  trip : 

"  Yes,  it  was  a  disappointment  not  to  meet  you 
again  at  Interlaken.  I  was  gone  ten  days  on 
that  grand  trip,  a  part  of  which  was  glorious 
and  inspiring  beyond  all  description.  The  last 
day  was  the  superbest  of  all  when  I  came  di- 
rectly across  the  snow  and  ice-fields  over  the 
Bernese  Ober-land,  descending  by  Schmadribach 
Falls,  at  the  upper  end  of  Lauterbrunnen  Val- 
ley. If  I  could  have  had  you  along!  Maurice 
Edwards  had   left  me,   and   I   was  alone  with 


66  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

guide  and  porter,  roped  together,  steps  cut  in  ice, 
etc.,  etc.  My  people  seem  to  think  it  would  pay  to 
send  me  abroad  every  year.  I  have  been  giving 
them  *  Looks  Abroad '  Sabbath  evenings ; 
'  France    and    Her    Falsehood    of    Extremes,' 

*  Germany   and    the   Old    Catholic    Movement/ 

*  Switzerland  and  the  Lessons  of  Her  Everlast- 
ing Mountains,'  '  England  and  Her  Establish- 
ment,' *  The  Sea  and  Its  Lessons.'  They  have 
asked  me  to  repeat  the  course,  to  publish  it  in 
book  form,  and  to  do  this  or  that  most  foolish 
thing.  I  consented  by  very  special  and  wide 
request  to  repeat  the  sermon  on  Switzerland,  as 
a  great  many  did  not  hear  it  on  its  first  delivery, 
who  were  especially  desirous  of  listening  to  that 
particular  sermon.  I,  too,  am  very  much  better 
than  when  we  first  landed,  and  my  wife  has  been 
very  much  improved  also.  Work  abounds, 
duties  multiply.  The  week  of  prayer  brought 
its  special  anxieties,  no  great  cloud  gathers  over 
us.  But  we  continue  some  services.  How  about 
Troy?  You're  a  brave  fellow  to  go  extemporiz- 
ing. I'm  a  coward  and  daren't.  Love  to  all 
from  us  both.     Affectionately, 

"  Herrick/' 

He  was  put  in  charge  of  the  Westminster 
series  of  Sunday  school  lessons.  He  was  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  Chair- 
man of  the  Presbyterial  Committee  on  Foreign 
Missions,  and  gave  in  the  summer  of  1873  at 


PHILADELPHIA,  1868-1874  67 

the  Hamilton  College  commencement  a  notable 
address  on  *'  The  Priceless  Value  of  American 
Citizenship."     But  the  strain  upon  him  had  be- 
come altogether  too  great.     That  early  summer 
while    I    was    visiting   him    at    Philadelphia,    I 
referred  to  the  various  calls  he  had  been  getting 
from  Dr.   Eells'  church  in  Brooklyn,   from  the 
First  Church  of  Syracuse,  etc.,  but  he  was  not 
ready  to  accept  any  of  them.     He  confessed  to 
being  very  much  broken  by  overwork.     He  felt 
that  his  strength  was  failing  and  that  he  dare 
not  stay  where  he  was,  and  owned  that  the  in- 
vitation from  Auburn  Theological  Seminary  to 
the   Chair  of   Homiletics   and    Sacred   Rhetoric 
presented   itself  very  attractively  in   its   oppor- 
tunity for  quiet  and   rest,   and   that  he   would 
probably  go  there.     He  loved  Auburn;  it  was 
still  the  home  of  his  wife's  family,  and  the  whole 
city  loved  him  and  would  give  him  a  proud  and 
glad  welcome. 


IV 

AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 
1874-1880 

"  *  I  am  the  True  Vine,'  said  our  Lord,  *  and  Ye, 
My  Brethren,  are  t'le  Branches;'  and  that  Vine, 
Then  first  uplifted  in  its  place,  and  hung 
With   its   first  purple   grapes,   since   then   has   grown, 
Until  its  green  leaves  gladden  half  the  world, 
And  from  its  countless  clusters  rivers  flow 
For  healing  of  the  nations,  and  its  boughs 
Innumerable  stretch  through  all  the  earth. 
Ever  increasing,  ever  each  entwined 
With  each,  all  living  from  the  Central  Heart. 
And  you  and  I,  my  brethren,   live  and  grow. 
Branches  of  that  immortal  human  Stem." 

— H.  E.  Hamilton  King. 

HERRICK  JOHNSON  had  never  tried 
teaching,  but  he  had  the  teacher's  in- 
stinct, contact  with  a  lot  of  young 
men  looking  forv^ard  to  the  gospel  ministry 
specially  appealing  to  him.  And,  turning  from 
the  pressure  and  fever  of  city  life,  he  vi^as 
in  just  the  condition  to  feel  strongly  the  drawl- 
ing of  that  special  work.  Nor  was  he  mistaken. 
It  was  the  open  door  to  the  great  work  of  his 
life.  For  over  thirty  years  from  that  time  he 
was    an   inspiration    to    hundreds    of    splendid 

68 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  69 

young  men,  who  in  their  enthusiasm,  and  with- 
out at  all  disparaging  other  professors,  used  to 
speak  of  him  with  great  affection.  Of  course  it 
was  a  hard  pull  to  leave  his  church  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  people  loved  him  in  all  the  relations 
which  he  held  toward  them  and  were  very  proud 
of  him,  and  he  most  reluctantly  yielded  to  his 
profound  conviction  that  it  was  the  Hand  of  God 
leading  him  to  Auburn.  That  was  many  years 
ago,  and  a  very  large  part  of  the  church  which 
held  so  tenaciously  upon  him  has  gone  to  the 
Heavenly  land.  But  one  of  his  devoted  friends 
there  is  still  living,  Mr.  Abraham  R.  Perkins,  of 
Germantown,  Philadelphia,  and  he  writes  me: 
"  From  1868,  when  Dr.  Johnson  came  to  us, 
he  was  my  very  dear  friend,  and  I  miss  him 
daily;  he  was  an  inspiration  in  earlier  days,  and 
a  joy  to  be  with  always." 

Of  course  there  was  no  time  to  hang  heavy 
in  his  new  field,  all  his  lectures  on  Homiletics 
and  Rhetoric  having  to  be  newly  written.  But 
the  quiet  of  the  Auburn  life  in  which  to  carry 
on  all  this  writing  was  a  great  relief.  He  could 
never  be  idle.  Every  hour  was  filled.  Then  the 
fellowship  with  the  students,  the  contact  with 
their  fresh  young  life,  just  at  that  time  of  his 
own  middle  life,  when  many  men  allow  them- 
selves to  feel  old,  brought  back  the  old  days  of 
joyful  vigor  and  youth.  All  this  was  so  entirely 
new  as  to  furnish  the  radical  change  in  feeling 
and  association  which  he  needed,  so  that  while 


70  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

he  worked  hard,  he  felt  it  to  be  grandly  new  and 
inspiring.  But  then  Herrick  Johnson  never  came 
to  the  time  when  life  ceased  to  be  ''  grand  "  and 
*'  new  "  and  "  inspiring." 

Through  the  generosity  of  a  number  of  his 
friends,  mainly  in  Philadelphia,  a  very  attractive 
and  commodious  house  for  the  new  Professor 
and  Mrs.  Johnson  was  erected.  It  was  the  habit 
of  the  Faculty  of  Auburn  Seminary  to  be  hos- 
pitable, and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  were  pre- 
eminently so.  They  made  their  beautiful  home 
most  delightful  to  the  young  men.  That  was  a 
distinguishing  feature  of  the  more  than  thirty 
years  of  their  seminary  life. 

Auburn  Seminary  had  always  held  a  unique 
position  among  the  theological  seminaries  of  the 
country.  Such  men  as  Richards,  and  Mills,  and 
Hall,  and  Huntington,  and  Condit,  and  Hopkins, 
and  Shedd  had  been  among  the  professors  in  its 
earlier  history.  It  had  at  that  time  on  the  roll 
of  its  Alumni  the  names  of  some  of  the  fore- 
most men  in  the  Church,  and  in  some  of  the  fore- 
most positions  of  trust  and  responsibility.  Over 
two  hundred  of  its  graduates  were  at  that  time 
in  the  pulpits  of  the  four  or  five  Synods  of  the 
Empire  State.  Its  buildings  for  the  accommo- 
dations of  its  students  are  unsurpassed  by  any 
in  the  land. 

On  the  occasion  of  Dr.  Johnson's  installation 
into  the  Chair  of  Homiletics  and  Sacred  Rhetoric, 
the  prayer  of  inauguration  was  offered  by  the 


Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  in  iMiddle  Life. 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  71 

Rev.  J.  B.  Condit,  D.D.,  the  address  to  the  newly 
inaugurated  professor  delivered  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  Hamilton  College,  S.  G.  Brown,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  and  the  welcome  given  by  Rev. 
Thomas  C.  Strong,  D.D.,  President  of  the 
Board  of  Commissioners.  Then  came  the  In- 
augural Address  by  Dr.  Johnson.  I  would  like 
to  give  it  in  full,  but  the  limits  of  this  little 
book  forbid  that,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from 
quoting  his  closing  words :  "  Its  supreme  aim, 
its  subject-matter,  its  ruling  spirit,  its  unearthly 
sanctions,  its  cooperating  agent — these  are  some 
of  the  great  and  mighty  ideas  which  stand  in- 
dissolubly  connected  with  the  work  of  preach- 
ing and  which  uplift  and  glorify  the  homiletic 
art,  and  are  fitted  to  arouse  a  lofty  enthusi- 
asm in  its  prosecution.  What  are  mortal 
daubings  on  canvas  when  painting  can  be  done 
with  eternity  for  a  background ;  what  are  Thor- 
waldsen's  or  Angelo's  chiselings  in  marble,  when 
sculptured  souls  may  be  the  immortal  product  of 
our  toil?  What  is  it  to  make  poems  and  ora- 
tions, to  kindle  only  natural  emotions,  when  ser- 
mons may  be  made  which  shall  put  a  new  song 
on  the  lips  of  immortal  men  to  be  sung  forever? 
"  Surely  it  is  a  shame  to  students  of  God's 
mysteries  if  they  grow  not  in  love  with  their 
homiletic  toil.  Men  pursue  their  secular  arts. 
They  go  to  the  preparation  of  marble  and  can- 
vas and  poem  with  hearts  beating  all  aglow  with 
enthusiasm,  fired  with  a  passion  for  their  work. 


12  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Ought  not  this  divinest  of  art,  which  it  is  the 
special  province  of  the  Chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric 
to  teach,  to  waken  a  grander  enthusiasm  and  to 
possess  with  a  more  consuming  zeal?  Do  I 
magnify  my  office?  Be  it  freely  acknowledged. 
God  grant  that  I  may  magnify  it  by  future  deed 
as  well  as  by  present  speech.  I  come  to  the 
Chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric  in  this  institution  with 
the  profound  conviction  that  what  the  pulpit 
of  our  day  most  needs  is  just  this:  not  better 
theologians,  not  greater  learning,  not  vaster 
stores  of  information,  but  the  art  of  using  what 
it  already  possesses.  If  the  element  of  enthusi- 
asm could  be  put  into  the  preparation  and  de- 
livery of  sermons  all  over  the  land,  in  thousands 
of  instances  the  effect  would  be  like  a  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.  The  art  of  preaching  has  been 
sadly  and  widely  ignored  and  forgotten  in  a  too 
exclusive  and  absorbed  attention  to  the  subject- 
matter.  The  structural  work  of  sermonizing, 
the  rhetorical  form,  the  adaptation  in  methods 
and  dress  of  thought  to  the  best  efforts  have 
far  too  little  heed,  while  sermons  are  far  too 
often  delivered  with  a  sameness  and  slovenli- 
ness, and  utter  indifference  to  oratorical  excel- 
lence scarcely  befitting  the  common  talk  of  the 
street. 

"  The  pulpit  wants  (is  it  extravagant  to  say 
it?)  above  all  else  enthusiastic  homiletes,  men 
not  only  consecrated  to  the  general  work  of  the 
ministry,  but  fired  with  a  passion  for  the  art  of 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  73 

preaching,  filled  with  a  holy  zeal  for  effective 
sermonizing,  men  who  shall  be  more  earnestly 
and  sacredly  ambitious  to  have  the  best  methods 
of  preaching  and  to  know  how  to  use  them  so 
as  to  exert  power  over  men,  and  win  prizes  in 
the  arena  where  souls  may  be  won,  than  the  old 
Grecians  were  to  excel  as  athletes  and  win  prizes 
in  the  ancient  games.  May  God  help  us,  here  in 
this  seminary,  to  make  such  men."  To  this 
work  Dr.  Johnson  gave  the  rest  of  his  life  (over 
thirty  years)  with  an  enthusiasm  and  devotion 
that  never  faltered. 

In  looking  over  the  record  of  his  first  year  in 
Auburn,  one  has  to  smile  at  the  hope  felt  by 
him,  of  securing  more  quiet  and  ease.  Aside 
from  his  having  to  prepare  at  least  three  new 
lectures  a  week  in  Homiletics,  and  to  devote 
time  to  drilling  the  students  in  '*  Prayer  Meet- 
ing Talks  "  and  listening  to  a  sermon  from  each 
one  of  the  Senior  Class  in  turn  every  week,  and 
giving  a  most  thorough  and  elaborate  criticism, 
in  every  case,  he  preached  in  the  surrounding 
cities — Utica,  Albany,  Syracuse,  Buffalo,  and 
Rochester.  He  addressed  the  Woman's  Tem- 
perance Society.  He  attended  the  General  As- 
sembly and  entered  very  earnestly  and  elabo- 
rately into  its  discussions,  especially  the  theme 
which  at  that  time  was  at  the  front — "  Consoli- 
dation." Dr.  Johnson  was  on  a  committee  which, 
all  but  himself,  favored  the  movement  to  con- 
solidate the  Boards  in  a  mighty  whole.    He  pre- 


74  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

sented  a  minority  report,  opposing  a  wholesale 
movement  to  combine  the  Boards,  and  really 
secured  the  settlement  of  the  question  on  the 
basis  of  his  report,  and  which  has  given  shape 
to  the  order  and  efficiency  of  the  Boards  ever 
since. 

Then  came  the  Auburn  Seminary  commence- 
ment, where  at  that  time  the  graduating  class 
offered  orations.  The  preparation  of  these  and 
the  drilling  of  the  speakers  were  under  the  care 
of  Dr.  Johnson.  Then  came  his  Inauguration  Ad- 
dress, to  which  I  have  already  referred.  Right 
after  that  Dr.  Johnson  preached  in  the  First 
Church  under  the  auspices  of  the  Y.M.C.A., 
soon  after  he  attended  the  commencement  at 
Williams  College,  where  the  paper  stated  that 
he  delivered  a  **  masterly  discourse  before  the 
Mills  Society."  During  the  summer  months  he 
supplied  the  Union  Services  in  Hudson,  N.  Y. 
All  this,  with  a  number  of  articles  written  in 
answer  to  criticisms  upon  the  "  New  Hymnal " 
(the  work  of  a  committee  of  which  Dr.  Johnson 
was  chairman),  and  the  constant  work  with  his 
classes  in  the  seminary  made  the  year  anything 
but  quiet  and  restful,  though  he  was  very  well 
and  happy  in  his  work. 

Dr.  Johnson  had  become  so  much  a  part  of 
the  life  of  Auburn  that  there  was  hardly  any- 
thing going  on  in  its  literary  or  religious  life  in 
which  he  was  not  invited  to  take  a  prominent 
part.     He  liked   to   identify  himself   with   the 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  75 

pleasant  social  life  of  the  city.  His  good  nature, 
his  humor,  his  dramatic  ability,  all  lent  a  charm 
to  any  entertainment  that  his  friends  were  en- 
gaged in.  Just  at  that  time  there  was  a  craze 
rife  through  the  country  for  spelling  bees,  and 
the  Opera  House  was  crowded  on  such  oc- 
casions. Dr.  Johnson  not  only  was  there,  but 
he  also  took  a  very  prominent  part — that  of 
enunciator  of  the  words  to  be  spelled.  There 
was  great  fun  which  he  not  only  furthered,  but 
greatly  enjoyed.  At  the  summer  resorts  which 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting,  he  was  the  centre 
of  the  social  life,  joining  most  heartily  in  the 
charades,  games,  and  tableaux,  while  he  par- 
ticularly enjoyed  the  impromptu  musicals.  His 
dramatic  talent,  together  with  his  facility  in  il- 
lustration, made  his  addresses  to  children 
charming.  They  were  simply  fascinated  by  him. 
It  was  only  amusements  that  had  sin  in  them 
which  he  opposed ;  clean  fun  he  delighted  in. 
He  never  would  have  preached  as  he  did  in 
Philadelphia,  and  especially  in  Chicago,  against 
theatres,  if  the  plays  had  been  moral  and  elevat- 
ing. Pure  comedy  he  would  have  greatly  en- 
joyed. 

The  great  city  churches  could  not  let  him 
alone.  They  felt  that  a  man  of  his  ability  should 
be  more  in  the  centre  of  power.  The  Collegiate 
Church  in  New  York,  which  had  greatly  enjoyed 
his  summer  supplies,  enthusiastically  called  him 
with  the  offer  of  a  very  large  salary.     After 


76  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

mature  and  prayerful  consideration,  he  declined 
the  call.  The  Collegiate  Church  repeated  the 
call,  but  he  found  himself  unwilling  to  go  out 
of  the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  to 
which  he  was  much  attached.  Later  the  Clas- 
son  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Brooklyn 
(the  church  started  by  Dr.  Joseph  T.  Duryea), 
called  him.  He  was  greatly  drawn  to  that 
church,  and  considered  the  call  very  prayer- 
fully. He  knew  the  joy  of  being  a  pastor.  But 
it  had  been  shown  him  that  God  had  given  him 
power  to  educate  pastors.  "  His  five  years  in 
Auburn  had  made  this  so  evident  to  his  brethren, 
that  it  could  not  fail  to  be  evident  to  himself," 
and  so  he  declined  this  call  also,  deciding  to  re- 
main at  Auburn.  A  committee  of  some  of  the 
most  prominent  men  of  Brooklyn  went  up  to 
Auburn  and  returned  home  without  being  able 
to  induce  him  to  reconsider  his  refusal  to  accept 
their  call.  He  wrote  me  about  it  September  27, 
1878,  as  follows  : 

"  I  am  grateful  to  you  for  your  words  of 
warm  appreciation  and  hearty  sympathy.  They 
have  been  helpful  in  the  matter  that  has  been 
before  me.  I  was  in  New  York  on  Friday  and 
Saturday,  September  13  and  14,  seeking  facts 
and  judgments,  and  after  several  personal,  and 
in  some  cases  quite  protracted,  conferences,  I 
came  up  to  Albany,  passed  the  Sabbath  there, 
returned  home  on  Monday,  and  on  that  day  sent 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  77 

back  my  formal  declination.  They  telegraphed 
on  receipt  of  it,  urging  a  reconsideration,  but  as 
no  additional  reasons  were  given,  I  replied  by 
telegraph  negatively.  They  then  requested  an- 
other interview  at  Albany  last  Saturday  (the 
committee  were  here,  at  Auburn,  in  full  force 
the  week  before)  and  I  met  them  at  noon  at  the 
*  Delevan.'  It  was  a  long  and  precious,  and 
painful  interview.  They  were  noble  men,  and 
they  treated  me  nobly,  and  their  whole  presenta- 
tion of  the  case  was  honorable,  urgent,  and  most 
affectionate. 

"  I  never  had  so  great  a  trial  of  this  kind  in 
my  life.  But  the  call  did  not  take  on  that  im- 
perativeness, which  I  think  a  call  should,  to 
move  a  man  from  a  place  where  he  is  already 
satisfied  and  useful.  I  could  not  see  that  it  was 
my  duty  to  go.  I  confess  the  balances  seemed 
often  even  and  the  case  doubtful.  It  was  hard 
to  decide  where  the  greater  usefulness  might 
be  possible.  I  gave  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  to 
Auburn,  and  reluctantly  told  the  good  brethren 
that  I  saw  no  reason  for  a  change  of  decision. 
It  was  hard,  Charlie.  I  don't  want  to  go 
through  such  another  trial  very  soon.  But  it 
has  made  me  acquainted  with  some  of  the 
choicest  spirits  I  ever  rnet.  Since  the  decision 
I  have  been  resting  in  it,  as  of  God  in  His 
Providence,  and  I  do  believe  it  to  be  right. 
"  Yours  very  affectionately, 

"  Herrick/' 


78  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Almost  immediately  after  having  settled  this 
question  of  the  Brooklyn  call,  Dr.  Johnson  threw 
himself  with  an  enthusiasm  characteristic  of  him 
into  the  work  of  advancing  very  materially  the 
interests  of  his  beloved  Alma  Mater,  Hamilton 
College.  He  plied  the  Evangelist  with  article 
after  article,  fairly  burning  with  white  heat 
with  his  intense  love  for  the  college.  His  first 
contribution  was  **  Do  the  Living  Church  and 
the  Living  College  Go  Together?"  "Shall  the 
College  Be  Christian?"  followed  with  a  strong 
article  on  *'  Shall  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the 
State  of  New  York  Have  a  College?"  Then 
another,  "  A  College  at  Our  Door,"  followed 
by  an  urgent  contribution,  "Our  Splendid  Op- 
portunity," and  still  another,  "  Our  Smaller  Col- 
leges." 

In  the  meantime  he  went  to  Philadelphia  to 
pay  an  eloquent  and  exquisite  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Dr.  E.  R.  Beadle.  The  correspond- 
ent of  the  Evangelist  wrote  of  it :  "  The  most 
prominent  service  in  the  Presbyterian  pulpit  on 
last  Sabbath  was  the  memorial  discourse  deliv- 
ered in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, by  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson,  of  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  in  commemoration  of  the  life  and 
services  of  the  late  Dr.  E.  R.  Beadle,  pastor  for 
thirteen  years  of  the  Second  Church.  Dr.  John- 
son came  from  Auburn  at  the  request  of  the 
church,  and,  prompted  by  love  for  the  memory 
of  him  with  whom  he  had  been  intimately  asso- 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  79 

ciated  while  they  were  pastors  together  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  sermon  was  a  fine  one,  wrought 
out  with  great  completeness,  and  formed  an  elo- 
quent loving  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his 
friend."  Right  after  that  came  a  call  from  the 
First  Church  of  Utica,  which  he  declined,  lead- 
ing the  Evangelist  to  say :  "  The  papers  say  that 
Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  has  declined  a  call  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Utica.  This  will 
encourage  all  the  churches  that  are  after  him, 
and  have  not  yet  been  refused." 

But  there  came  a  call  from  the  Fourth  Church 
of  Chicago,  which  at  first  he  also  declined,  but 
which  was  renewed  with  arguments  and  reasons 
to  which  he  had  to  pay  such  heed  as  led  him 
finally  to  accept  it.  Perhaps  nothing  will  more 
clearly  present  these  reasons  and  their  effect 
upon  him  than  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  me 
from  Auburn  April  9,  1880: 

"  I  have  at  last  succumbed,  as  you  doubtless 
have  seen  by  the  papers.  The  pressure  has  been 
persisting  and  augmenting,  until  I  was  brought 
face  to  face  with  considerations  that  clinched  my 
conscience  and  made  me  feel  the  grip  of  an 
'ought.'  It  came  to  look  as  if  I  must  go  to 
Chicago,  or  fight  against  God.  Doors  of  useful- 
ness are  opened,  through  which  I  see  limitless 
possibilities  of  power.  I  am  offered  a  lecture- 
ship in  the  Seminary,  which  will  be  no  draft  of 
a  serious  nature,  and  in  which  I  can  go  on  giving 


80  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

to  students  the  cream  of  what  I  have  been  giving 
here.  It  will  only  be  supplemental  to  the  Chair 
of  Sacred  Rhetoric.  The  details  of  the  depart- 
ment, the  drill  work,  and  much  of  the  instruc- 
tion, will,  of  course,  fall  to  the  occupant  of  the 
chair.  This  arrangement  is  to  continue  only  as 
I  wish  and  to  the  extent  of  work  I  may  find 
myself  equal  to.  Then  McCormick  throws  wide 
open  the  Interior,  and  says  I  may  use  it  as  I 
wish.  Then  there  is  our  struggling  University 
at  Lake  Forest  to  be  placed  on  a  broad  stable 
foundation,  and  to  be  made  the  Presbyterian 
University  of  the  whole  vast  interior  of  our 
country.  Behind  me,  and  assuring  me  of  all 
sympathy  and  cooperation,  will  be  the  Fourth 
Church,  possessing  millions  to-day,  and  humanly 
speaking  certain  of  adding  millions  more  to  the 
wealth  now  held  by  its  members. 

"  The  Church  is  now  free  from  debt,  is  in  the 
best  position  of  Chicago,  has  no  Presbyterian 
church  within  two  miles  of  it,  and  is  full  of  ac- 
tivity and  alive  with  workers.  Among  the  latter 
are  some  of  the  noblest  women  on  the  continent, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Mitchell.  It  is 
possible,  of  course,  that  I  go  to  great  trial,  dis- 
appointment, strife  of  soul,  and  failure.  No 
matter!  I  never  believed  more  fully  that  I  was 
in  the  path  of  duty,  and  if  not  even  my  lowest 
and  least  hope  is  realized,  I  shall  continue  to  feel 
that  this  was  of  God.  If  it  is  not  to  permit  me 
to  do  some  greater  work  for  Him,  then  it  may  be 


AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  81 

to  show  me  more  of  Himself,  through  the  path 
of  trial  and  by  the  way  of  cloud  and  storm. 
My  blessed  Katie  goes  with  me,  full  of  the  same 
quiet  belief.  We  have  been  singularly  alike  in 
our  feeling  about  it  all.  We  have  both  had  othei; 
preferences.  Personal  tastes  would  have  led  us 
eastward,  if  we  were  to  move  at  all.  We  both 
felt  the  first  declination  of  this  matter  was  right 
and  yet  we  both  had  lingering  doubts  whether, 
after  all,  a  mistake  had  not  been  made,  when 
the  pressure  was  renewed  under  entirely  new 
conditions,  and  conclusion  in  favor  of  going 
was  reached,  we  rested  in  it  as  of  God. 

"  You  must  cease  not  to  pray  for  us — you  and 
Clara.  It  is  a  trial  to  leave  dear  old  Auburn, 
but  the  very  reasons  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
urge  for  staying  were  turned  upon  me  as  per- 
suasive to  come  to  Chicago — Seminary  and  Col- 
lege pleading  there  and  ofifering  facilities  for 
doing  some  things  I  could  hardly  hope  to  do 
here.  Keep  on  loving  your  old  friend,  and  re- 
member as  you  strike  for  Hamilton  and  Auburn, 
and  the  dear  Lord  above  all,  that  in  the  interior 
of  the  continent  somebody's  heart  boats  in  sym- 
pathy always.    As  ever, 

''  Herrick.'' 

A  correspondent  for  the  Evangelist,  writing 
from  Auburn,  said  of  his  going  to  Chicago :  ''  A 
great  deal  that  is  true  and  beautiful  in  life  will 
go  from  us  when  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  leave 


82  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Auburn.  It  seemed  so  fitting  that  the  gifted 
daughter  of  Mr.  Hardenburg,  himself  a  poet, 
should  find  a  beautiful  home  on  the  very  ground 
given  by  her  honored  father  sixty  years  ago  for 
the  '  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Western  Edu- 
cation Society.' 

*'  We  hoped  that  the  fair  scion  would  take 
deep  root  in  that  genial  soil,  and  that  we  might 
long  '  sit  under  its  shadow  with  great  delight.' 
We  know  how  well  both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson 
have  fulfilled  their  duty  in  the  honorable  posi- 
tion which  they  have  occupied  among  us,  and 
it  is  with  great  reluctance  that  we  admit  the 
thought  that  a  more  important  and  promising 
field  of  usefulness  now  opens  before  them." 
And  Dr.  S.  M.  Hopkins,  giving  the  farewell  ad- 
dress to  the  then  graduating  class,  said  of  Dr. 
Johnson's  going :  "  Long  live  the  King,  who 
goes  from  us  to  occupy  a  broad  and  noble  field 
of  usefulness  in  another  part  of  the  Church.  We 
have  kept  him  as  long  as  we  could  keep  so  suc- 
cessful a  pulpit  orator,  and  a  little  longer,  I 
think,  than  he  promised  to  stay  when  he  came." 


V 


THE  FOURTH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
OF  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  1880-1883 

"  Happy  is  the  man  taught  by  the  truth  itself, 
Not  by  the  shapes  and  sounds  that  pass  across  his  life." 

— Thomas  a  Kempis. 

DR.  JOHNSON  was  installed  pastor  of 
the  Fourth  Church  of  Chicago,  May 
30,  1880,  Dr.  Arthur  Mitchell,  then 
pastor  of  the  First  Church,  preaching.  The 
charge  to  the  pastor  was  delivered  by  the  Rev. 
R.  W.  Patterson,  D.D.,  and  the  charge  to  the 
people  by  Dr.  D.  S.  Johnson. 

In  the  autumn  he  began  his  course  (contem- 
plated when  he  came  to  Chicago)  of  lectures 
on  Sacred  Rhetoric  to  the  students  of  the  Semi- 
nary of  the  Northwest.  The  following  is  the 
formal  request  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Board  of  Directors :  "  Resolved,  that  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  McCormick, 
and  with  the  entire  concurrence  of  Dr.  Halsey, 
Professor  of  Natural  Theology  and  Church  Gov- 
ernment, Rev.  Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  be,  and 
he  hereby  is,  respectfully  and  earnestly  invited 
to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures  in  Sacred  Rhetoric 
to  the  classes  of  the  Seminary  during  the  coming 

83 


84  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

annual  session,  Mr.  McCormick  having  given 
Dr.  Johnson  satisfactory  personal  obligations  for 
this  service." 

The  substantial  consideration  is  understood 
to  have  been  two  thousand  dollars.  On  Novem- 
ber 7th  of  that  year  the  Second  Church  of  Au- 
burn, where  Dr.  Johnson  had  preached  for  a  long 
time,  while  he  was  professor  at  Auburn,  held  its 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  organization  as  a 
church,  and  very  naturally  sent  him  an  urgent 
invitation  to  be  present  at  their  celebration.  I 
give  herewith  his  letter  to  show  how  he  bound 
men  and  churches  to  him  by  the  strong  cords 
of  his  loving  heart: 

"  71  Rush  Street,  Chicago,  Nov.  7,  1880. 
"  My  Dear  Brother  Allbright  : 

"  All  my  heart  goes  out  in  congratulation  to 
you  and  the  dear  people  of  the  Second  Church 
on  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  as 
an  organized  body  of  Jesus  Christ.  Jubilate! 
And  how  I  would  like  to  join  you  in  the  glad 
song!  Something  of  my  life  went  down  into 
the  church  when  I  touched  it  a  little  while  ago. 
Something  of  my  life  went  down  into  your  life 
also,  dear  Allbright,  when  we  walked  and  talked 
together  in  your  student  days.  So  it  would  be  a 
right  joyous  thing  to  touch  all  your  palms  next 
Wednesday  night  and  join  personally  in  the 
greetings  of  that  good  hour.  But  duties  here 
forbid,  and  I  must  be  content  with  a  written 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       85 

*  God  bless  you,'  and  a  hand-shake  half-way 
across  the  continent.  Success  to  you,  old  half- 
century  !  Renew  your  youth  like  the  eagle ! 
Abide  in  strength,  thou  strong  bow !  Go  forth 
with  joy  and  singing,  beautiful  bride  of  Jesus ! 
Up  with  invisible  walls  to  click  of  unseen  trowel 
and  with  living  masonry,  O  Zion  of  Auburn! 
*'  Yours  in  toil  and  love, 

"Herrick  Johnson.'" 

On  November  21,  1880,  Dr.  Johnson  began 
a  series  of  sermons,  or  lectures,  to  be  delivered  in 
Farwell  Hall,  Sunday  afternoon,  which  attracted 
very  wide  attention.  The  germ  of  them  was 
started  in  Philadelphia.  But  it  was  not  until 
this  time  that  he  elaborated  them  to  the  extent 
of  making  a  notable  book,  called  Christianity's 
Challenge.  The  topics  of  the  lectures  were 
''Christianity's  Challenge,"  "Christianity's 
Book,"  "Christianity's  Christ,"  "Christianity's 
Gospel  of  Definiteness,"  "  Christianity's  View  of 
Man,"  "  Christianity's  Endless  Death,"  "  Chris- 
tianity and  Endless  Life."  At  the  close  of  the 
series,  the  lectures  were  published.  Circulation 
of  the  book  was  wide-spread,  and  has  done  an 
incalculable  amount  of  good.  One  of  the  daily 
papers  said :  "  It  is  certain  to  make  a  marked 
impression  upon  the  religious  thought  of  the 
times.  It  fills  an  unoccupied  place  in  religious 
literature,  and  upon  every  page  shows  the  hand 
of  a  master."    "  He  is  doing  a  good  work  in  the 


86  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Fourth  Church,  and  exerts  a  healthful  influence 
beyond  it.  He  never  preached  with  greater 
power,  more  evangelically,  spiritually,  and  af- 
fectionately than  now,  whilst  as  a  Lecturer  on 
Sacred  Rhetoric  he  will  do  much  to  give  char- 
acter to  our  future  ministry." 

"  He  is  a  man  of  medium  size  and  striking 
physique,  having  in  every  respect  the  air  and 
manner  of  a  Christian  gentleman.  The  deep 
overhanging  brow,  piercing  eye,  unaided  by 
glasses,  so  generally  necessary  to  clergymen  of 
his  age,  denote  the  great  preponderance  of  the 
intellectual  above  the  physical.  But  it  is  as  the 
rhetorician  and  elocutionist  that  we  specially 
admire  this  man.  His  style  is  clear  and  to  the 
point.  His  delivery  unlike  that  of  many  of  the 
clergy,  who  seem  to  discharge  a  perfunctory 
duty,  was  filled  with  energy,  the  voice,  although 
not  a  young  man's,  resounding  at  times  through 
the  spacious  edifice,  clear  and  wonderfully  dis- 
tinct, yet  managed  with  grace  and  elasticity,  we 
could  not  but  think  it  a  first-class  opportunity 
for  our  young  and  even  older  clergy  to  gather 
a  few  elocutionary  hints  from  this  master  of  the 
art  of  public  speaking." 

At  this  time,  1881,  the  Revised  Version  of  the 
New  Testament  came  out,  and  the  leading  Chi- 
cago papers  sent  reporters  to  get  the  view  of  it 
from  the  various  city  pastors.  Dr.  Johnson  re- 
plied: "You  ask  for  my  judgment  respecting 
the  practical  utility  of  the  new  version  of  the 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       87 

New  Testament  for  public,  personal,  and  home 
use.  The  new  version  will  tell  every  reader  of 
the  New  Testament  more  nearly  the  exact  truth 
of  God.  This  is  its  supreme  and  eminently 
practical  advantage.  Nothing  whatever  can 
compensate  for  the  lack  of  it.  Nobody  wants 
gloss  and  false  guise  in  God's  Word,  whether 
for  use  in  family  prayers,  private  devotion,  or 
Bible  study.  Sentiment,  sonorous  form,  musical 
structure,  old  association,  however  sacred,  every- 
thing must  give  way  to  truth.  The  new  version 
is  an  honest,  thorough,  scholarly  effort  to  get  at 
the  mind  of  the  spirit,  and  to  give  that  mind 
exact  expression. 

"  If  it  be  said  that  archaisms,  grammatical  in- 
accuracies, and  interpolations  could  be  explained, 
the  reply  is,  The  Art  of  Scripture  should  explain 
itself.  '  Take  no  thought  for  to-morrow  '  wants 
clearing  up.  *  Be  not  anxious  for  to-morrow ' 
makes  its  meaning  stare  the  reader  in  the  face. 
*  Charity  '  sends  the  ordinary  reader's  thought  at 
once  to  alms-giving.  '  Love '  has  largeness 
enough  for  all  that  is  wrapped  up  in  the  original 
Greek.  *  The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye ;'  how 
luminous  that  makes  the  passage,  the  '  light '  of 
which  has  been  *  darkness  '  to  multitudes.  And 
so  on  all  through.  If  it  be  said  that  the  new 
version  will  disturb  the  faith,  the  reply  is  that 
the  faith  that  is  disturbed  by  the  truth  rests  in 
the  letter  and  is  not  worth  keeping." 

On  July  4,  Dr.  Johnson  delivered  an  address 


88  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

to  the  Mills  Society  at  Williams  College,  "  of 
very  great  ability  and  excellence,  producing  a 
profound  impression.  He  has  a  brilliant,  lucid, 
and  nervous  style  both  of  writing  and  speaking, 
his  thoughts  are  incisive  and  his  views  of  truth 
and  duty  such  as  the  age  and  all  ages  demand. 
He  has  that  accuracy  of  epithet,  pertinency  of 
illustration,  and  that  peculiar  choice  and  colloca- 
tion of  words,  which  not  only  finish  the  sentence 
when  it  is  concluded,  but  which  arm  the  close  of 
it  with  an  explosive  quality  like  that  of  a  minie 
bullet." 

On  Dr.  Johnson's  return  to  Chicago,  in  the 
fall  of  1881,  the  papers  were  full  of  various  ac- 
counts of  a  suspension  of  a  member  in  a  Pres- 
byterian church  for  dancing.  On  account  of  Dr. 
Johnson's  decided  views  concerning  certain 
forms  of  amusements,  the  press  very  naturally 
desired  to  get  his  opinion  of  this  special  case, 
and  I  am  glad  to  quote  his  reply  to  show  how 
sane  his  views  were :  "  I  hardly  think  that  the 
statement  of  the  case  can  be  the  correct  one.  I 
think  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  without  any 
question  leaves  that  sort  of  thing  to  the  individ- 
ual conscience.  There  must  have  been  some- 
thing else  in  connection  with  that  case  beyond 
what  is  shown  on  the  face  of  it.  It  cannot  be 
possible  that  the  Synod  or  Presbytery  can  have 
disciplined  any  man  simply  for  indulgence  in  a 
cotillion.  It  certainly  cannot  be  made  a  condi- 
tion of  church  membership,  and  such  a  provision 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       89 

is  not  in  the  bounds  of  our  Church,  so  far  as 
I  know — anywhere.  If  such  a  rule  is  made  in 
any  individual  case,  it  is  without  the  authority 
of  the  Church.  Dancing  is  not  a  matter  of  dis- 
cipline, and,  in  my  judgment,  ought  not  to  be. 
It  is  one  of  that  class  of  indulgences  that  comes 
under  the  law  of  things  indifferent.  It  is  one  of 
those  things  which  is  not  wrong  or  right  of  it- 
self, but  only  the  one  or  the  other  in  connection 
with  surrounding  circumstances.  Therefore  it 
is  a  thing  which  must  be  left  for  settlement  as 
to  its  moral  bearings  to  the  individual  conscience. 

"  The  great  law  of  our  Church  in  reference  to 
church  membership  is  this,  namely,  that  there 
are  no  conditions  of  church  membership  which 
are  not  likewise  conditions  essential  to  salvation. 
In  other  words,  we  do  not  believe  in  making  it 
harder  to  get  into  church  than  it  is  to  get  into 
Heaven.  That  is  the  great  principle  on  which 
our  Church  is  founded.  I  would  here  state  that 
there  is  a  very  mistaken  notion  abroad  that  we 
are  bigoted  and  narrow-minded,  and  needlessly 
strict,  when  the  real  truth  is,  that  we  are  among 
the  broadest  and  freest  of  churches  in  reference 
to  conditions  of  church  membership,  in  that  our 
reception  of  members  is  based  upon  the  funda- 
mental law  to  require  no  more  conditions  for 
church  membership  than  we  claim  as  necessary 
to  secure  salvation." 

In  1881  and  1882  Dr.  Johnson  began  a  series 
of    sermons    entitled    "  Plain    Talk    About    the 


90  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Theatres,"  which  greatly  roused  the  city. 
Friends  of  the  theatres,  both  in  the  Church  and 
out,  claimed  that  Dr.  Johnson's  unfamiliarity 
with  the  theatre  made  him  a  very  unfair  critic. 
He  was  vehemently  attacked  by  theatre  man- 
agers, prominent  actors,  stockholders  of  thea- 
tres, by  leaders  of  fashionable  clubs.  He  was 
charged  with  narrowness  and  ignorance;  some 
contributors  to  the  papers  treated  him  cour- 
teously, others  vituperatively.  It  was  not  like 
him  to  enter  upon  such  a  crusade  without 
preparation.  '*  Ordinarily,"  said  one  of  the  re- 
ligious papers,  "  a  minister  is  placed  at  a  great 
disadvantage  in  attacking  the  theatre,  because 
from  actual  attendance  he  knows  nothing  of 
what  goes  on  there.  But  in  this  case  the  dra- 
matic writers  for  the  daily  papers,  by  their 
sweeping  criticisms  and  denunciations  of  trashy 
and  immoral  plays,  which  the  theatres  have  for 
the  most  part  exhibited,  supplied  Dr.  Johnson 
with  a  well-stocked  armory  of  weapons,  and  he 
made  tremendously  effective  use  of  them.  The 
latest  chapter  of  the  controversy  is  this :  The 
Hon.  E.  C.  Earned,  an  old  and  most  reputable 
citizen  of  the  city,  published  an  open  letter  to 
Dr.  Johnson,  in  which  he  courteously  defended 
the  theatre,  and  maintained  that  all  its  immorali- 
ties could  be  corrected  if  Christians  and  good 
people  generally  would  come  to  the  support  of 
the  theatre,  and  patronize  only  clean  plays. 
Never  was  a  luckless  and  self-confident  adven- 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       91 

turer  in  the  Alps  more  completely  overwhelmed 
by  an  avalanche  than  was  Mr.  Larned  by  the 
reply  which  his  defence  brought  forth  from  Dr. 
Johnson." 

These  sermons  and  articles  in  defence  from 
the  attacks  made  upon  him  were  gathered  in  a 
book  named  A  Plain  Talk  About  the  Theatre, 
published  by  Revell.  In  the  same  season 
was  issued  a  book,  Revivals,  Their  Place 
and  Power.  Both  books  received  a  great  deal 
of  attention.  Soon  after  this,  in  the  spring 
of  1882,  the  General  Assembly  met  in  Spring- 
field. There  was  a  great  deal  of  interest  shown 
in  the  election  of  a  Moderator  and  a  number  of 
candidates.  There  was  a  special  desire  to  do 
away  with  the  recognition  of  the  old  divisions  in 
the  Church,  before  the  reunion.  Regularly  the 
alternation  of  Moderators'  Old  School  and  New 
School  went  on  year  after  year.  The  special  ob- 
jection against  any  minister  nominated  would 
be  that  as  the  retiring  Moderator  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  Old  School,  it  would  never  do  to 
elect  this  new  man  to  the  high  office,  because 
he  too  had  been  an  Old  School  man.  Several 
candidates  were  nominated,  when  Judge  Moore 
of  Chicago  rose  and  nominated  Dr.  Herrick 
Johnson,  not  only  because  of  his  marked  ability, 
but  also  because  he  belonged  to  the  same  school 
that  the  retiring  Moderator  belonged  to — the 
New  School.  Judge  Moore,  himself  an  Old 
School  man,   said  he  wanted  to  break  up  this 


92  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

regular  oscillation  between  the  New  School  and 
Old  School.  He  hoped  that  the  time  had  gone 
by  when  they  could  nominate  a  man  only  because 
he  belonged  to  either  the  New  or  Old  School. 
Dr.  Johnson  received  354  of  the  444  votes  cast. 
Thus  the  last  trace  of  the  old  schism  was  ob- 
literated. 

The  friends  of  Dr.  Johnson,  especially  from 
the  Chicago  Presbytery,  were  naturally  very 
much  pleased  over  his  election,  claiming  that  the 
large  majority  was  an  indorsement  of  his  warm 
fight  against  the  theatres  in  Chicago  the  winter 
before.  They  claimed  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  United  States  was  in  accord  with 
Dr.  Johnson  in  that  fight,  and  that  this  large 
majority  was  his  indorsement.  The  Chicago 
Times  said :  "  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson,  the  able 
Pastor  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  of 
this  city,  who  has  been  giving  such  heavy  blasts 
against  the  theatre  lately,  was  yesterday  chosen 
presiding  officer  of  the  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly  of  the  United  States,  in  session  at 
Springfield,  111.  Dr.  Johnson  may  be  a  little  too 
radical  on  the  amusement  question,  but  there  are 
few  abler  theologians  or  pulpit  orators  than  he 
is."    Dr.  Howard  Crosby  wrote  him  as  follows : 

"  My  Dear  Dr.  Johnson  : 

"  I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  of  your  election  as 
Moderator.  There  is  no  man  who  more  fitly 
represents  the  old  and  the  new  than  yourself. 


Dr.  Johnson  as  he  was  at  "McCormack." 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       93 

You  are  conservative  and  yet  in  the  front  rank 
of  progress.  With  your  administration  the  Hnes 
are  obHterated  entirely.  I  feel  like  having  a 
bonfire  in  my  yard  to-night  in  honor  of  the  oc- 
casion. God  bless  your  presidency,  and  may 
the  blessed  Spirit  baptize  the  Assembly. 

**  Yours  in  Christ, 

"Howard  Crosby. 

The  New  York  Independent  said  of  him : 
"  The  personnel  of  the  Assembly  may  be 
sketched  in  a  sentence.  It  is  a  body  of  good 
balance,  sense,  industry,  and  earnestness.  It  is 
composed  in  good  part  of  the  younger  men  of 
the  Church,  with  enough  of  its  more  experienced 
leaders  to  keep  its  work  well  in  hand  and  to 
carry  it  on  according  to  proper  forms  and  by 
approved  methods.  Its  Moderator,  Dr.  Herrick 
Johnson,  was  chosen  according  to  a  deliberate 
purpose  to  bury  the  dividing  lines  between  Old 
School  and  New  School  out  of  sight  forever. 

"  The  Moderator  is  a  success — a  fine  parlia- 
mentarian, prompt  in  decision,  and  positive  in 
rulings  and  courteous  always,  he  drives  the  busi- 
ness along  as  seeming  not  to  drive  it,  and  in- 
spires the  Assembly  always  with  his  own  cheer- 
ful, energetic,  and  devout  spirit."  Undoubtedly 
the  most  interesting,  exciting,  and  momentous 
time  in  the  Assembly  was  when  the  overture  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  South,  was  presented 
to   seek  for   fellowship   with   a   desire   that  the 


94  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

"  Bloody  Chasm,"  caused  by  the  war,  be 
bridged,  and  both  Churches  meet  in  cordial  fel- 
lowship. After  a  very  spirited  and  exciting  de- 
bate, growing  out  of  an  intense  desire  to  do 
nothing  that  would  detract  from  the  past  record 
of  the  Church  on  loyalty,  a  response  to  the  cour- 
teous and  Christian  advance  made  by  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  South,  was  agreed  upon 
amidst  immense  enthusiasm,  cheers,  tears,  and 
doxologies. 

The  action  of  the  Moderator  when  he  had  with- 
drawn temporarily  from  the  chair  that  he  might 
take   part   in    the    debate,    revealed    his   intense 
loyalty  and  his  truly  fraternal  feeling  toward  the 
Southern  Church.     Dr.  Johnson  spoke  with  the 
fiery   eloquence   of   a   patriot,   pleading   for   his 
country.     He  spoke  excitedly,   for  he  was  ex- 
cited, and  his  supporters  and  opponents  were  for 
the  moment   carried  away   with   his  eloquence. 
When   he   closed   with  the   declaration   that  he 
would  lose  his  right  arm  before  he  would  trample 
on  the  graves  of  the  Union  soldiers  in  the  South, 
and  say  that  treason  was  right,  there  followed 
such  a  storm  of  applause  as  is  rarely  seen  in 
such  a  convention.     Johnson  never  became  so 
eloquent  in  his  warfare  on  the  vices  of  Chicago 
as  when   defending  the   loyalty  of   his   church. 
And  when  he  introduced  his  amendment  to  the 
troublesome  motion  it  was  carried  with  a  loud 
and  enthusiastic  vote.     At  the  conclusion  of  the 
business  of  the  Assembly,  Dr.  Charles  L.  Thomp- 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       95 

son  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Church,  the 
city,  and  the  Governor  with  a  happy  address 
such  as  he  knows  specially  how  to  deliver.  He 
said  that  their  Assembly  might  be  called  the  As- 
sembly of  the  Apostle  John,  while  Dr.  Matthew 
Newkirk,  in  seconding  the  resolution,  said  that 
they  were  not  only  in  the  spirit  of  the  Apostle 
John,  but  of  the  Apostle  Johnson.  The  Interior 
said :  "  The  Assembly  has  never  had  a  better 
Moderator,  nor  one,  all  things  considered,  so 
good,  within  our  recollection.  Quick,  clear,  cor- 
rect, and  courteous,  holding  the  business  fully  in 
hand,  giving  no  offence,  dispatching  business 
with  a  rush,  he  was  a  model  all  through." 

In  his  1882  vacation  Dr.  Johnson  went  to  Lake 
George,  and  one  of  the  papers  of  the  time  said 
of  him :  "  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  and  wife  have 
come  down  from  Saratoga,  and  beyond  as  far 
as  Lake  George,  to  Ocean  Grove,  from  whence 
he  will  run  up  once  more,  next  Sabbath,  to 
preach  to  those  who  may  gather  at  the  Marble 
Collegiate  Church  on  Fifth  Avenue  at  Twenty- 
ninth  Street.  His  people  out  in  Chicago  will  be 
glad  to  hear  that  he  is  in  the  best  of  health,  and 
moreover,  has  just  been  surprised  and  compli- 
mented here  in  New  York  by  the  reception  of 
the  George  Wood  medal  for  the  '  Premium  Tract 
on  the  Glory  of  Christ,'  his  recent  volume,  en- 
titled Christianity's  Challenge,  having  been  ad- 
judged by  the  proper  committee  of  the  American 
Tract  Society  as  above  all  competitors  entitled  to 


96  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

this  special  and  golden  distinction.  The  medal 
is  very  handsomely  engraved,  every  way  a 
worthy  memento  of  a  work  which,  we  are  glad 
to  say,  is  having  a  large  sale. 

"  This  medal  has  been  awarded  for  eight  years 
past,  the  first  time  to  Dr.  Theo.  Christlieb  of  the 
University  of  Bonn  for  his  Modern  Doubt  and 
Christian  Belief,  and  last  year  to  George  Smith, 
LL.D.,  for  his  life  of  Dr.  Alexander  Duff.  Now 
an  American  has  won  it,  and  will  wear  it  humbly 
as  already  the  more  signal  honors  of  this  sumptu- 
ous year  which  fell  upon  his  shoulders  from  the 
Springfield  sky." 

Through  the  autumn  of  this  same  year  there 
was  much  to  be  done  in  answering  criticisms 
from  Southern  sympathizers  and  conservatists 
regarding  the  way  the  Assembly,  under  his  lead- 
ership, settled  the  reply  to  the  overture  of  the 
Southern  Church.  All  these  criticisms  faded 
out  in  due  season,  and  time  showed  that  the 
Southern  and  Northern  Churches  as  a  result  of 
that  action  came  nearer  than  ever  before.  It 
was  in  that  summer  that  he  received  the  honor- 
ary degree  of  LL.D.  from  the  Trustees  of  Woos- 
ter  University. 

In  the  fall  of  1889  the  Seminary  of  the  North- 
west changed  its  name  to  that  of  McCormick 
Theological  Seminary  for  very  good  reasons. 
It  had  been  for  years  under  the  fostering  care 
of  the  distinguished  Mr.  Cyrus  McCormick, 
who,   with   Mrs.   McCormick,  his   coadjutor   in 


FOURTH  CHURCH,  CHICAGO       97 

every  good  word  and  work,  had  put  up  building 
after  building,  and  added  immensely  to  the  en- 
dowment of  the  institution.  After  his  death,  his 
family  still  farther  added  greatly  to  the  endow- 
ment, and  the  Trustees  in  grateful  recognition 
of  it  all,  changed  the  name  to  that  of  the  Mc- 
Cormick  Theological  Seminary,  making  it  a 
monument  of  his  and  his  family's  generous  care 
of  the  great  institution.  The  relation  which  Dr. 
Johnson  held  to  that  family  was  one  of  great 
affection  on  both  sides.  Through  all  his  long 
and  honorable  career  as  a  distinguished  pro- 
fessor in  the  seminary,  the  friendship  with  that 
family  was  ever  most  inspiring  to  him. 


VI 


Mccormick  theological  seminary, 

1883-1903 

"  No  man  is  born  into  the  world,  whose  work  is  not 
born  with  him,  there  is  always  work  and  tools  to 
work  withal,  for  those  who  will,  and  blessed  are 
the  horny  hands  of  toil !  The  busy  world  shoves 
angrily  aside  the  man  who  stands  with  arms  akimbo 
set  until  occasion  tells  him  what  to  do,  and  he  who 
waits  to  have  his  task  marked  out  shall  die  and 
leave  his  errand  unfulfilled." 

— James  Russell  Lowell. 

IN  June,  1883,  Dr.  Johnson  resigned  the 
pastorate  of  the  Fourth  Church,  which  he 
held,  in  common  with  a  Lectureship  on 
Homiletics  in  the  Seminary  of  the  Northwest, 
in  order  to  give  himself  wholly  to  the  work  in 
the  Chair  of  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology, 
to  which  he  had  been  called.  The  pastorate  and 
the  professorship  together  involved  too  much 
labor,  and  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  give  up 
the  one  or  the  other,  and  he  felt  peculiarly 
drawn  to  the  work  of  helping  to  make  ministers, 
for  which  he  had  a  peculiar  and  remarkable 
fitness.  The  church  accepted  his  resignation 
with  the  deepest  regret.  In  their  resolution, 
among  many  things,  the  committee  said :  "  He 
brings  to  his  office  an  intellect  clear,  incisive,  and 

98 


Mccormick  seminary        99 

comprehensive,  a  self-poised  resolute  character, 
and  a  life  of  devout  spiritual  consecration.  He 
has  taken  advanced  rank  among  the  great  lead- 
ers of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  universal,  in  all  fields  of  Chris- 
tian effort.  He  has  proved  to  be  the  most  suc- 
cessful advocate  of  higher  education  and  a  faith- 
ful and  dauntless  monitor  of  the  public  con- 
science. We  gratefully  recognize  the  energy, 
efficiency,  tenderness,  and  faithfulness  of  his 
pastoral  work,"  etc. 

As  Dr.  E.  C.  Ray,  now  the  editor  of 
the  Pacific  Presbyterian,  Santa  Barbara,  Calif., 
was  a  most  familiar  or  beloved  friend  of  Dr. 
Johnson's,  and  for  many  years  the  Secretary  of 
the  College  Board,  which  Dr.  Johnson  orig- 
inated, I  have  asked  him  to  write  an  article  on 
that  board  and  Dr.  Johnson's  relation  to  it,  and 
he  has  most  kindly  furnished  the  accompanying 
delightful  paper.  Had  he  been  unable  to  do  so, 
I  would  have  applied  to  Dr.  D.  S.  Gregory,  the 
long-time  and  honored  editor  of  the  Homiletic 
Review,  who  was  a  most  helpful  member  of  that 
College  board  and  who  "  did  the  fine  and  con- 
vincing work  with  facts  and  figures  that  Dr. 
Johnson  used  with  effect  at  the  Assembly  of 
1883": 

"  Most  of  us  see  only  what  folks  around  us  see, 
what  we  are  all  habituated  to  see.  Here  and 
there  a  man  is  tall  enough  to  see  over  his  con- 
temporaries' heads.     We  call  him  a  statesman, 


100  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

one  fitted  to  lead  the  State.  Thirty  years  ago 
there  was  but  one  man  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  so  far  as  I  know,  aside  from  some  presi- 
dents of  Western  colleges,  who  was  tall  enough 
to  see  that  our  denomination's  weakest  point, 
and  a  fatal  one,  was  its  neglect  of  college  work. 
Everybody  else  stoutly  boasted  that  we  were  *  a 
college-building  and  a  college-endowing  Church,' 
or  asserted  that  denominational  colleges  were  no 
longer  needed.  Other  great  denominations  saw 
that  such  colleges  were  essential,  and  built  and 
endowed  them  to  from  three  to  five  times  the 
colleges  and  endowment  of  them  we  had  sup- 
plied to  ourselves.  Dr.  Johnson  saw  the  facts 
which  others  were  blind  to  and  saw  the  truth 
about  the  matter  which  others  did  not  suspect. 
He,  with  a  strong  corps  of  lieutenants  aiding, 
planned  and  secured  the  organization  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Aid  for  Colleges  and 
Academies,  now  the  College  Board  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  Within  five 
years  after  the  Board  got  to  work  our  colleges 
and  academies  had  increased  fivefold. 

''  The  organization  of  the  Board  came  about 
in  an  interesting  way — the  opportunity  looked 
about  until  it  found  the  man  for  the  hour.  The 
General  Assembly  of  1877  appointed  a  special 
committee  on  enlarging  the  functions  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  the  end  in  view  being  some 
plan  to  increase  the  movement  of  our  sons  into 
the   ministry,   one    of    the    periodical    alarming 


Mccormick  seminary       loi 

slumps  in  the  supply  of  candidates  being  then 
upon  us.  The  committee  reported  progress  to 
the  Assemblies  of  1878,  1879,  1880,  and  1881,  in 
its  final  report  recommending  indefinite  action. 
That  report  was  then  given  to  a  new  special 
committee,  Dr.  John  Hall,  Chairman.  That  com- 
mittee reported  progress  the  next  year,  1882, 
and  Dr.  Hall  asked  to  have  the  chairmanship 
given  to  some  one  who  could  devote  more  time  to 
the  matter.  Looking  about  for  some  gentleman 
of  leisure,  the  Assembly  chose  one  who  had  on 
hand  only  the  pastorate  of  a  great  city  church,  a 
chair  in  a  theological  seminary,  personal  father- 
ing of  its  students,  and  perhaps  a  dozen  other 
matters  of  first  importance,  and  selected  Dr. 
Johnson  to  add  to  the  committee  as  its  Chairt 
man. 

**  Then  he  worked.  Two  special  committees 
had  been  running  five  years  to  get  a  good  start 
to  jump,  but  had  been  unable  to  find  the  starting 
line  or  the  direction  for  the  jump.  Dr.  John- 
son's committee  did  not  run  far,  only  a  year, 
before  it  jumped.  It  recommended  the  organi- 
zation of  the  College  Board,  submitting  a  consti- 
tution for  it,  outlining  its  policies.  The  Church 
had  been  consolidating  boards.  The  East  was 
pretty  solidly  against  a  new  board.  Many  pow- 
erful ministerial  and  lay  delegates  came  up  to 
the  General  Assembly  resolved  to  prevent  the 
formation  of  a  College  Board.  The  report  of 
his   committee   was   in   Dr.   Johnson's   baggage, 


lOa  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

completed,  when  he  left  Chicago  for  the  Assem- 
bly at  Saratoga;  and  all  the  way  on  the  train 
he  was  preparing  his  sermon,  as  retiring  Mod- 
erator, on  the  same  subject.  First  that  sermon, 
then  the  report  of  the  committee,  fell  upon  the 
commissioners  with  such  irresistible  weight  of 
argument  statistical,  historical,  and  oratorical 
that  opposition  was  smashed  down  to  a  single 
solitary  negative  vote.  The  Board  of  Aid  was 
organized. 

"  It  got  to  work.  Dr.  Johnson  was  chosen 
President  and  so  continued  until  he  declined 
reelection  two  decades  later.  He  sat  at  the  head 
of  the  Board  table ;  but  from  that  table  he  never 
took  a  bit  of  pie  so  big  as  a  postage  stamp,  being 
there  to  give  himself,  not  to  get.  Probably  no 
president  of  one  of  our  Church  boards  ever  gave 
attention  more  comprehensive  and  more  minute 
to  all  the  Board's  affairs.  No  patience  was  too 
great  to  be  yielded  to  its  lesser  matters,  no  time 
too  long,  no  concentration  of  mind  too  taxing 
to  be  given  for  its  larger  projects.  He  never 
dictated  to  the  Board.  He  never  domineered. 
But  he  dominated,  and  that  solely  by  his  seer- 
ship,  his  statesmanship,  his  devotion,  his  knowl- 
edge, his  insight,  outsight,  foresight,  his  creative, 
organizing,  administrative  abilities  freely  at  the 
Board's  service.  He  planned,  he  corresponded, 
he  travelled,  he  preached  and  talked,  he  inter- 
viewed, he  solicited  for  the  Board.  He  ex- 
hibited in  all  that  service,  in  a  most  interesting 


Mccormick  seminary       los 

manner,  the  union  of  certain  pairs  of  balancing 
opposite  qualities  which  are  seen  thus  operating 
together  in  one  person  only  in  big  statesmen  and 
generals ;  as,  daring  and  discretion,  intensity  and 
indefatigableness,  tenacity  and  tact,  persever- 
ance and  elasticity,  readiness  and  sedulity,  nerve 
and  prudence,  conscious  power  and  consideration 
of  others.  He  showed  the  rare  statesman's  qual- 
ity of  inability  to  acknowledge  defeat  when 
smaller  men  would  give  up,  or  to  remember  any 
failure  an  hour  after  it  occurred ;  instead  of  la- 
menting and  despairing,  he  shut  up  that  experi- 
ence in  his  subconsciousness  and  turned  all  his 
conscious  powers  into  a  new  channel  to  lead  to 
victory. 

"  As  Secretary  of  the  Board  for  about  twenty 
years  from  1891,  I  knew  something  of  Dr. 
Johnson  as  President  of  the  Board.  The 
greatest  greatness  of  my  honored  and  beloved 
chief  was  not  his  statesmanship  or  generalship; 
it  was  his  heart.  As  I  watched  the  movements 
of  that  great  heart  toward  our  struggling  insti- 
tutions, teachers,  and  students ;  toward  theo- 
logical students  while  under  his  tuition  and  ever 
afterward ;  toward  everybody  and  everything,  but 
most  of  all  toward  myself,  I  realized  what  is 
meant  by  a  great,  true,  tender,  human.  Christ- 
like heart.  There  were  frequent  happenings, 
and  exhibitions  of  his  heart  there-anent,  that 
filled  me  with  wonder,  with  awe  in  my  sense  of 
his  greatness.    Of  all  the  great  men  I  have  known, 


104.  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

he  stands  among  the  two  or  three  in  whom 
I  never  saw  anything  petty  or  mean ;  and  I  knew 
him  intimately  for  more  than  thirty  years.  I 
recall  such  instances,  in  our  relations  official  or 
friendly,  of  bearing  and  forbearing,  of  never- 
failing  kindness  and  courtesy,  of  criticism, 
counsel,  commendation  of  ready  sympathy  and 
making  allowance,  and,  above  all  particulars,  of 
such  an  atmosphere,  such  a  spirit  pervading  his 
relations  with  me,  that  it  all  stands  in  my  mind 
as  the  ideal  of  friendship — the  real  thing,  friend- 
ship so  high,  so  unselfish,  so  faithful,  so  trusting, 
so  inspiring,  steadying,  vitalizing,  compelling, 
that  I  can  compare  it  to  nothing  else  in  my  world 
but  the   friendship  of  two  women,   my  mother 

and  my  wife. 

"  E.  C.  Ray." 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  my  be- 
loved friend,  to  greet  Mrs.  Robinson  and  myself 
while  on  an  eight  months'  absence  in  Europe, 
during  which  I  had  the  great  joy  of  visiting 
Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land,  while  Mrs.  Robinson 
remained  in  Italy: 

"  Southampton,  L.  I.,  July  6,  1887. 
"  Here  by  the  sea  at  last  I  find  leisure  for  a 
word  to  you.  Old  Great  Heart.  You  are  not  so 
full  of  the  glories  of  your  royal  journeyings  that 
you  won't  welcome  tidings  from  an  Old  *  Ordi- 
nary.' Perhaps  you  don't  know  that  we,  too, 
have  been  sightseeing  (we  two)  and  that  the  rush 


Mccormick  seminary       105 

across  the  continent  and  back  and  straightway 
thereupon  to  Kansas  City  and  back,  with  prepa- 
ration for  three  College  Commencements,  have 
kept  me  from  sending  you  earlier  greetings  and 
congratulations.  I  went  to  San  Francisco  in  the 
interest  of  the  International  Y.M.C.A.  to  address 
the  Triennial  Convention  there.  They  gave  me 
two  hundred  dollars  for  the  trip,  so  I  took  Katie 
along  and  the  wish  of  years  was  gratified.  We 
went  by  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  and  returned  by 
Northern  Pacific,  and  every  step  of  the  way  was 
a  delight.  Yosemite  met  utmost  expectation,  and 
that  is  saying  a  marvellous  thing,  for  expectation 
was  at  a  great  height.  That  valley  is  one  of  the 
half-dozen  things  in  this  world  that  have  not 
disappointed  me.  And,  while  the  first  sight  was 
impressive  beyond  expression,  the  scene  grew  on 
day  by  day,  and  I  longed  to  spend  weeks  there. 
The  isolation  of  the  great  peaks  in  the  Rocky 
and  Cascade  Ranges  gave  them  a  grandeur  and 
uplift  surpassing  any  single  peak  of  the  Alps. 
Though  Hood  and  Shasta  and  St.  Helen  are  not 
by  any  means  as  high  as  Mont  Blanc  and  Monte 
Rosa,  it  was  a  great  journey  and  has  whetted  ap- 
petite for  the  greater  one,  vh.,  Alaska,  which 
from  Dr.  Roberts'  description  must  be  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world. 

"  How  you  filled  and  thrilled  me  with  your 
account  of  '  The  Land,'  and  how  you  touched  me 
by  telling  of  your  frequent  thought  of  us,  as 
you  passed  from  holy  place  to  holy  place,  and 


106  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

felt  the  stir  of  the  associations  and  the  presence 

of  the  King.     '  Herrick  would  enjoy  all  that ' 

indeed  and  he  prays  God  to  put  this  precious  wine 

of  delight  into  his  cup  before  he  goes  hence,  and 

he  thanks  God  that,   seeing  the  sickness  must 

come,  it  was  made  the  occasion  of  putting  to 

Charlie  Rob's  lips  this  exquisite  draught.    Drink 

it,  Dear  Boy,  with  a  great  appreciation  and  a 

great  gratitude  and  with  it  may  come  thrills  of 

new  vitality  and  an  assurance  of  a  new  lease 

of  vigorous  and  joyous  life.     Now  I  judge  you 

and  Clara  are  together  again  and  bathing  in  the 

splendor  of  Switzerland.     May  your  souls  grow 

larger  and  your  vision  of  God  clearer,  and  your 

song  of  gratitude  more  rich  and  tender  amidst 

the  inspiring  presence. 

"  Herrick." 

Then  came  his  greeting  on  our  return  from 
the  long  tour. 

"  Chicago,  111.,  Dec.  21,  1887. 
"  Welcome  back  to  the  pastorate.  You  belong 
there.  I  pray  that  the  resumption  of  the  old 
toil  may  be  the  open  door  to  the  richest  work 
of  your  life.  I  like  what  you  say  of  the  Scranton 
field.  It  seems  full  of  promise.  Blessings  on 
you,  dear  old  heart.  Palestine  is  uncertain,  i.e., 
our  trip  to  it.  I  am  booked  for  the  Presbyterian 
Council  meeting  in  London,  in  June  next.  We 
are  dreaming  a  little  of  a  tour  among  the  far 
Oriental  nations.     George  Knox  has  just  been 


Mccormick  seminary       iot 

here  with  stirring  appeals  for  Japan.  Dr.  Hap- 
per  preceded  him  in  behalf  of  China.  A  visit 
among  the  missionaries  would  be  a  great  treat. 
Actually,  to  look  upon  Japan's  marvellous  revo- 
lution would  be  a  rare  privilege.  Mighty  changes, 
the  mightiest  our  world  ever  saw,  are  soon  to 
take  place  in  the  vast  empires  of  the  Orient,  I  do 
most  confidently  believe.  The  boys  that  go  now 
and  take  their  places  there  will  be  in  the  szvim. 
Six  or  eight  of  the  choicest  go  from  our  Senior 
Class — Charlie,  it's  just  magnificent  to  have  the 
touch  of  these  young  men  who  are  to  be  the 
heroes  for  God  of  the  next  twenty-five  or  fifty 
years.  Let  the  pessimists  croak.  My  face  is 
toward  the  radiant  morning.  My  old  ram's  horn 
is  going  to  be  jubilant  and  hopeful.  What  a 
splendid  breath  of  inspiration  the  Supreme  Court 
gave  us  Prohibitionists  the  other  day  [later  in  life 
Dr.  Johnson  returned  to  the  Republican  Party 
and  cast  his  last  vote  for  Taft].  How  noble  and 
Christian  were  Cleveland's  words  to  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance  delegation,  week  before  last. 
You  can  hardly  imagine  how  still  the  air  is  since 
we  hanged  the  Anarchists.  The  gladdest  of  holi- 
days to  you  and  yours  from  us  both.    As  ever, 

"  Herrick." 

In  addressing  a  friend  who  was  particularly 
happy  in  his  pastorate  he  wrote :  "  I  do  greatly 
rejoice  in  what  you  write  of  your  field  and  work. 
Why  should  not  the  mellow  golden  days  of  life 


108  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

be  the  richest,  where  a  man  has  gotten  as  you 
have  into  the  inner  sanctuaries  of  his  people's 
hearts  ? 

"  I  cancelled  many  of  my  preaching  engage- 
ments in  justice  to  Katie  and  the  Seminary.  Re- 
action came  after  Commencement,  but  it  came  the 
wrong  way.  The  path  back  and  up  was  so  try- 
ing, and  the  progress  so  slow,  that  I  deemed  it 
only  just  to  all  interests  to  honor  some  of  my 
engagements  in  the  breach.  I  preached  a  half 
a  dozen  times  during  the  summer,  where  only  one 
Sabbath  service  was  called  for,  and  by  making  a 
business  of  loafing  I  am  back  in  the  harness  in 
fair  shape.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to  open  the  Seminary 
with  an  address  and  you  would  agree  with  and 
heartily  endorse  most  of  its  contention.  It  was 
on  'Preaching  and  the  Preacher.'  The  quar- 
tette I  named  for  the  latter  being  grace,  grit, 
gumption,  go.    As  ever, 

''  Herrick/' 

To  a  friend,  he  wrote,  October  2y,  1895  • 

"Where  are  you?  In  the  highway  of  the 
King  of  course,  at  the  Master's  business,  winning 
souls.  How  are  you  ?  Well,  I  trust,  full  of  fire 
and  fervor,  hopeful  and  trustful,  'putting  a 
cheerful  courage  on,'  as  you  begin  the  New 
Year's  work.  I  am  ordered  out  to  grass,  no  more 
work  for  a  year  is  the  physician's  imperative 
prescription.     The  old  brain  has  been  driven  so 


Mccormick  seminary       109 

relentlessly,  it  is  entering  protest.  I  never  knew 
until  lately  that  I  had  a  spine.  So  many  physi- 
cians agreed  as  to  the  diagnosis  and  their  ver- 
dict so  accorded  with  my  own  conviction,  that 
I  have  deliberately  dropped  all  work,  and  as  soon 
as  matters  can  be  adjusted  here  we  start  for  the 
'Alma  Health  and  Rest'  at  Alma,  Mich.,  where 
we  shall  probably  spend  two  months  and  then  go 
somewhere  south  (possibly  California,  possibly 
Honolulu)  for  equable  temperature,  outdoor 
lives,  and  sun  baths.  I  seemed  to  be  improving 
until  I  reached  Liverpool.  Then  I  had  unmis- 
takable notice  that  all  was  not  right  in  my  nerv- 
ous system.  Anaemia  was  the  immediate  symp- 
tom. The  remote  and  underlying  trouble, 
impaired  nerve  tissue.  I  must  go  to  work  build- 
ing up  this  nerve  tissue. 

*'  The  doctors  are  sure  that  I  can  be  on  my  feet 
in  twelve  months,  with  absolute  rest  meanwhile. 
They  are  sure  of  nothing  if  I  keep  at  three 
months,  except  irretrievable  disaster.  I  obey,  I 
go  into  retirement,  I  turn  my  back  on  what  is 
dearer  to  me  than  life,  my  life  work,  in  the  hope 
that  temporary  abandonment  will  give  me  a  new 
lease  both  of  life  and  work.  I  am  so  fond  of  a 
racket  that  I  know  that  this  is  going  to  be  a 
bitter  medicine  to  take.  But  Katie  and  I  are 
already  trying  to  get  some  sweetness  out  of  the 
bitterness  and  we  are  talking  over  the  possible 
blessings  '  this  cloud  is  big  with  '  and  picturing 
to  ourselves  the  delights  we  may  come  across  in, 


110  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

'  studying  to  be  quiet ' ;  and  blessed  surprises  the 
dear  Lord  may  have  for  us,  along  this  wilderness 
way.  You  and  your  wife  must  hold  us  in  your 
hearts  and  wrap  us  about  with  your  believing 
prayers.  Your  breezy,  precious  letter  reached  us 
in  London  just  before  we  started  for  home.  May 
God  enrich  you  more  bountifully  than  ever  for 
the  work  of  rescue  and  structure  and  make  this 
year  the  best  of  all  in  your  honored  ministry. 
As  of  old, 

"  Herrick." 

Through  the  years  of  '90  to  '95,  Dr.  Johnson 
was  intensely  alive  to  many  questions.  He  was 
preparing  the  way  for  the  great  success  of  the 
revision  which  came  in  1901.  He  wrote  many 
articles  tingling  with  intense  life,  on  that  subject. 
Then  he  threw  himself  into  the  midst  of  the  fight 
for  the  Sunday  closing  of  the  World's  Fair,  in 
Chicago.  He  advocated  it  with  a  burning  zeal 
which  was  characteristic  of  him,  and  the  failure 
of  the  movement  was  to  him  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment. He  wrote  many  articles  on  the  World's 
Parliament  of  Religion,  and  cleared  the  air  of 
many  of  the  assumptions  of  its  advocates,  so  that 
it  came  to  be  considered  for  what  it  was  worth, 
stripped  of  the  Orientalisms  and  false  lights  of 
the  East. 

Dr.  Joseph  W.  Cochran,  secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Education,  in  an  address  at  the  Memorial 
Meeting  held  at  Philadelphia,  recalls  in  a  most 


McCORMICK  SEMINARY  111 

inspiring  way  Dr.  Johnson's  presence  and  address 
at  the  Chicago  Auditorium  in  advocacy  of  the 
closing  of  the  great  Fair  at  Chicago  on  Sunday. 
"  Oh  how  that  lion  nature,  fearless  of  soul,  as 
the  flash  of  his  eagle  eye  betokened,  would  rise 
to  the  height  of  emotional  fervor  and  with  that 
clarion  voice  shake  congregations  out  of  their 
spiritual  torpor.  I  never  saw  such  a  telling 
exposition  of  the  Spirit-filled  personality  as  I  did 
when  Dr.  Johnson  stood  in  the  Auditorium  at 
Chicago  speaking  on  the  Sunday  closing  of  the 
World's  Fair  in  '93.  One  intense  sentence  of 
absolutely  irrefutable  logic  fused  in  that  mighty 
heart  and  hurled  into  the  heart  of  that  great 
congregation  sent  the  people  to  their  feet  in- 
stantly and  the  applause  that  rang  out  was 
deafening."  He  carried  on  his  continued  fight 
for  temperance,  working  hand  in  glove  with  the 
Prohibitionists,  the  W.C.T.U.,  and  all  the  other 
temperance  organizations. 

The  intense  life  he  lived  made  it  necessary  for 
him  to  take  a  long  rest  in  California  in  winter 
of  '95  and  '96.    He  wrote  at  this  time  as  follows : 

"  April  30,  1896,  San  Diego,  Cal. 

"  Yours  of  April  21,  directed  to  the  care  of 
Prof.  Stevenson,  was  at  once  forwarded  to  San 
Diego  and,  when  it  got  here,  was  at  once  eagerly 
devoured,  and,  like  everything  else  from  your 
dear,  old,  faithful  heart,  was  good  to  take. 

''  Yes,  God  has  been  exceeding  good  to  us  and 


m  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

has  not  let  us  see  much  of  the  dark  side  of  min- 
isterial life.  Eternity  won't  be  too  long  to  tell 
Him  our  gratitude.  Yet  I  am  not  sure  but  some 
of  the  loaded,  bowed-down  ones  will  have  a 
deeper  gratitude  to  tell  to  the  dear  Lord.  For  in 
the  darker  rooms  through  which  they  have  been 
led  there  may  have  been  vouchsafed  visions  to 
them  which  we  have  not  been  permitted  to  enjoy 
along  the  sunny  slopes. 

"  We  have  come  to  a  wonderful  climate,  in- 
deed, here  in  Southern  California.  Chas.  Dudley 
Warner  calls  this  region  '  Our  Italy,'  and  while 
in  finished  cultivation  and  historic  association  the 
term  is  inappropriate,  yet  in  superb  climatic  con- 
ditions it  is  more  than  justified.  Egypt's  March 
last  year  was  not  near  so  choice,  so  balmy,  so 
flooded  with  sunshine  and  so  rich  with  floral 
beauty,  as  the  March  of  this  Southern  Pacific 
Coast.  Even  Italy's,  wonderful  old  Italy's,  glory 
pales  in  comparison.  Come  down  here  some  day, 
when  you  and  your  wife  are  weary,  and  take 
these  sun  baths  and  sing  a  new  song  of  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord.  We  were  up  at  Los  Angeles 
last  week  attending  La  Fiesta  and  it  was  sur- 
passingly beautiful.  The  floral  parade  was  sim- 
ply magnificent.  We  took  a  hurried  run  to  Red- 
lands  to  the  now  quite  celebrated  Smiley  Bros.' 
Paradise,  but  the  Mohonk  home  rivals  and  out- 
vies it.  By  the  by,  why  have  you  never  climbed 
the  Mohonk  heights?  My  impression  is  you 
have  never  been  there.    See  it  late  in  June,  and 


Mccormick  seminary       iis 

you  will  own  it  is  the  most  picturesque  spot  your 
eye  ever  rested  on  in  Uncle  Sam's  domain. 

''  We  hardly  know  how  long  we  shall  stay  in 
San  Diego.  The  climate  is  ideal,  and  everybody 
assures  us  the  summers  here  are  as  fine  as  the 
winters  and  springs.  Strictly,  there  are  no  such 
things  here  as  summers,  and  winters,  and  springs. 
The  sun,  and  the  flowers,  and  the  delicious  balm 
take  full  possession  the  year  round  and  like 
Death  '  have  all  seasons  for  their  own.'  But 
the  probabilities  now  are  that  we  shall  turn  our 
faces  Chicago-ward  the  middle  or  the  last  of 
June,  attend  to  a  few  household  matters,  and 
then  .  .  .  ?  Possibly  IMohunk,  possibly  West- 
minster Park,  possibly  southern  Michigan.  We 
hope  to  resume  '  business  at  the  old  stand '  in 
September.  If  God  grant  us  this  we  shall  be 
very  grateful,  and  if  He  deny  us  this  we  shall 
try  to  say  with  a  submissive  and  chastened  cheer- 
fulness, Even  so.  Father. 

"  As  ever — forever, 

''  Herrick." 

The  great  question  of  the  Revision  of  the 
Standards  was  inevitable.  The  coming  together 
of  the  New  School  and  the  Old,  in  the  quickening 
time  of  that  reunion,  rendered  the  Revision  the 
natural  outcome.  The  division  was  as  sharply  de- 
fined as  had  been  the  Separation  of  the  Two 
Schools,  though  it  did  not  follow  the  lines  of  the 
two  former  bodies. 


114i  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Men  who  were  opposed  to  the  question  were 
not  necessarily  historically  Old  School  men. 
There  were  surprising  outcomes.  Dr.  Johnson's 
attitude  toward  it  might  have  caused  those  to 
wonder  who  knew  him  only  in  early  days,  when 
he  was  so  strong  a  Calvinist.  But  those  who  had 
followed  his  career  and  noted  his  open  mind, 
his  responsiveness  to  progress,  understood  it. 
Dr.  Howard  Crosby's  note  to  him,  at  his  election 
as  Moderator,  had  in  it  an  intimation  of  such  a 
development.  "  You  are  conservative  and  in  the 
front  rank  of  progress." 

The  thought  of  freeing  the  Standards  from  the 
archaic  forms  of  speech,  which  made  them  mis- 
understood, and  of  giving  a  bold  free  ringing 
statement  of  the  definite  Love  of  God,  in  the 
Salvation  of  men,  moved  him  mightily.  He  went 
into  the  movement  with  great  intensity  and  en- 
thusiasm. Here  is  a  letter  written  in  that  time, 
in  which  he  refers  to  the  whole  question : 

"  March  lo,  1901. 
"  Your  letter  of  Feb.  21  was  a  cordial  one. 
It  went  down  into  my  heart's  depths.  God  bless 
you.  The  company  that  sees  threescore  and  ten 
years  this  side  of  Heaven  are  never  numerous. 
Nearly  all  the  old  intimates  of  the  early  days  are 
in  Heaven.  We  shall  be  going  soon,  and  we 
have  no  new  terms  to  make  with  the  blessed 
Lord.  We  took  Him  at  His  word,  and  settled 
things  once  for  all,  and  I  rather  think  we  need 


Mccormick  seminary       115 

not  trouble  ourselves  now  about  the  final  issue, 
'  I'm  a  poor  sinner  and  nothing  at  all/  but  I  can 
look  up  into  the  Lord's  face  and  say,  *Thou  know- 
est  all  things,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.' 

"  Yet  the  blessed  Master  has  permitted  me  to 
wag  my  pen  again  and  I  do  want  it  to  do  service 
to  the  Truth.  We  had  a  fine  evening  in  New 
York  (at  the  Presbyterian  Reunion  banquet). 
All  the  social,  aesthetic,  and  material  appointments 
were  perfect  and  a  beautiful  spirit  of  love  and 
manly  Christian  courtesy  pervaded  the  discus- 
sion ;  you  doubtless  have  already  seen  the  ad- 
dresses in  the  Evangelist.  They  are  to  be  put  in 
pamphlet  form  and  widely  circulated,  as  is  being 
done  by  the  Evangelist  Publishing  Co.  I  take  it 
as  evidence 'that  the  Evangelist  at  least  is  quite 
well  satisfied  with  the  way  things  went. 

"  I  saw  our  good  Brother that  evening 

and  tried  as  an  old  friend  to  get  from  him  one 
good  reason  why  he  opposed  all  changes  in  our 
confession,  but  I  failed  in  his  case  as  I  have  failed 
in  every  case.  Charlie,  my  recent  studies  of  the 
confession  make  it  absolutely  impossible  for  me 
ever  again  to  regard  our  present  confession  as 
a  satisfactory  statement  of  our  faith.  We  cannot 
any  longer  look  intelligent  men  in  the  face  and 
go  on  declaring  that  the  confession  states  Pres- 
byterian belief.  Its  omissions  are  worse  than  its 
commissions !  Do  see  to  it  that  your  Presbytery 
is  represented  in  the  next  Assembly  and  he  there 
yourself. 


116  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

**  Katie  has  not  been  at  all  well  this  winter,  al- 
though she  has  had  no  severe  illness  of  any  kind. 
We  are  jogging  on  together,  thanking  God  for  the 
daily  fellowship  and  thinking  it  very  sweet  and 
beautiful  to  grow  old  looking  off  into  the  west 
'  where  all  the  Heaven-bound  sunsets  go.'  Do 
you  go  to  the  Assembly  this  year  ?  I  do  hope  you 
are  a  commissioner.  Grave  questions  are  to  be 
settled.  We  need  balance  and  poise.  Did  you 
See  Chicago's  overture  to  the  Assembly  on  the 
question  of  credal  changes?  I  flung  it  on  the 
Presbytery  without  consultation,  but  it  went 
through  with  only  one  dissenting  vote.  Some- 
thing must  be  done.  But  nothing  should  be  done 
in  a  spasm." 

The  General  Assembly  of  1901  was  a  notable 
one.  The  Debates  on  the  Revision  of  our  stand- 
ards and  a  new  statement  of  doctrine  brought  out 
the  strongest  men  on  both  sides  and  their  dis- 
cussion was  very  able  and  brilliant.  The  Chris- 
tian Work  says :  *'  One  of  the  strongest  men  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  to-day  is  Prof.  Herrick 
Johnson  of  the  McCormick  Theological  Semi- 
nary, whose  orthodoxy  none  may  question,  and 
whose  devotion  to  the  Presbyterian  System  of 
doctrine  none  can  impugn.  In  a  recent  communi- 
cation to  the  Interior,  Dr.  Johnson,  conservative 
as  he  is,  expresses  himself  with  characteristic 
directness  upon  the  Presbyterian  situation.  He 
affirms  that  it  must  be  seen  that  our  Church  is 


Mccormick  seminary       117 

formally  and  constitutionally  put  on  the  road  to 
an  actual  change  in  her  doctrinal  standards,  the 
next  battle,  if  there  is  to  be  a  battle,  he  says 
will  be  in  the  next  Assembly,  when  this  Com- 
mittee now  appointed  and  instructed  shall  make 
report  of  its  work.  Dr.  Johnson  thinks  that  the 
action  taken  was  wise  and  eminently  commend- 
able. He  adds :  '  It  is  that  to  which  I  have  given 
the  advocacy  of  pen  and  voice  for  the  last  year, 
•and  for  which  I  do  most  devoutly  thank  God. 
It  puts  us  on  the  road  to  constitutional  change 
by  constitutional  methods.  It  settles  for  the  time 
being  at  least  some  very  agitating  and  vexing 
questions.  It  promises  to  take  some  stumbling- 
blocks  out  of  our  existing  creed.  It  promises  to 
furnish  us  a  brief,  clear  statement  of  doctrine 
that  will  make  further  misconstruction  less  pos- 
sible. It  secures  a  most  happy  and  surprising 
unanimity  of  action.  And  if  it  issues  in  success, 
I  most  confidently  and  joyfully  believe  it  will  set 
our  Church  forward  with  high  hope  and  joyful 
agreement  to  a  great  work  of  evangelization  and 
conquest  for  the  good  of  man  and  the  glory  of 
God." 

Here  is  a  much  prized  letter  I  received  about 
this  time: 

"  McCormick  Theological  Seminary, 

"  April  28,  1912. 
"  I  went  through  the  work  of  the  last  Assembly 
'  with    fear    and    trembling/    sensible    that    the 


118  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

strain  was  great.  I  face  the  coming  Assembly, 
therefore,  with  some  doubt  whether  it  is  wise  for 
me  to  take  up  the  burden  it  of  course  will  im- 
pose. But  Presbytery  insisted  that  the  interests 
involved  made  it  desirable  for  me  to  go  again, 
and  I  have  consented.  Our  Revision  Committee 
had  a  delightful  meeting  at  Pittsburgh,  and  the 
unanimity  reached  was  remarkable  in  the  circum- 
stances. The  report  ought  to  carry,  but  to  keep 
the  extremists  from  kicking  the  traces,  to  win 
men  who  want  nothing  in  the  way  of  change 
and  at  the  same  time  to  win  men  who  want 
everything  in  the  way  of  change  is  a  kind  of 
gee-haw  process  compared  with  which  driving  a 
couple  of  cantankerous  and  independent  mules 
would  be  child's  play.  Here  is  a  good  brother 
who  is  reported  as  saying  he  would  rather  wait 
ten  years  and  then  get  an  absolutely  new  creed 
than  get  now  what  our  report  offers.  I  am  sure 
that  even  the  explanatory  modifications  as  sug- 
gested would  be  great  gain,  and  if  we  can  only 
get  the  brief  summary  of  our  faith  something 
like  the  Articles  of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  England,  the  gain  would  be  immense. 

**  Well,  the  fight  will  be  on  soon  in  the  Assem- 
bly. I  marvel  at  the  men  who  can  resist  an 
honest  movement  to  put  the  love  of  God  for  a 
lost  world  in  our  published  creed.  It  is  a  strange, 
sad,  and  almost  wicked  anomaly;  I  pray  God  it 
may  end  soon.  By  the  grace  of  God,  it  shall 
end  some  day.    Your  loving  and  loyal  invitation 


Mccormick  seminary       119 

to  Katie  and  me  to  come  to  your  home  on  our 
way  to  the  Assembly  for  a  week's  visit  touches 
our  hearts  and  we  thank  you  both  for  the  warmth 
and  the  urgency  of  it.  But,  alas !  that  week  I  am 
counting  on  as  the  only  time  I  can  get  in  which 
to  make  any  possible  preparation  for  the  battle 
that  will  be  on  at  the  Assembly,  not  only  the  revi- 
sion battle,  but  two  or  three  others  that  are  loom- 
ing up. 

"  Last  week's  Committee  meeting  at  Pittsburgh 
was  a  severe  strain.  This  is  Commencement 
week.  We  cannot  possibly  leave  here  before 
the  Tuesday  preceding  the  opening  day  of  the 
Assembly.  So,  dearly  beloved  friends,  accept 
from  us  both  assurance  of  our  heartiest  apprecia- 
tion. It  would  be  a  joy  to  be  with  you  and  to 
go  round  about  counting  the  signs  of  your  rescue 
and  structure  work.  Don't  you  expect  to  get  to 
the  Fair  at  Buffalo?  We  are  booked  for  a  few 
days  there  about  the  last  of  June  at  the  Alcazar 
Hotel,  near  the  Exposition  grounds.  Do  join 
us  and  renew  the  sightseeing  experiences  we  had 
when  you  were  visiting  us  here  in  Chicago,  when 
the  White  City  was  reared  and  the  World  was  on 
exhibition  by  our  Lake  Front. 

"  In  the  old  bonds, 

"  Herrick." 

The  Chicago  Interior,  in  August,  1901,  contains 
the  following  statement :  "  The  inventive  reports 
of  the  secular  press  have  been  »o  busy  giving  out 


120  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

misinformation  in  regard  to  the  work  of  our 
Committee  upon  Revision,  that  it  seems  best  to 
give  the  facts  in  the  case :  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  is 
the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  entrusted  with 
preparing  a  new  statement  of  doctrine;  Dr. 
Dickey  is  chairman  of  the  Committee  entrusted 
with  the  revision  of  certain  specified  sections  of 
the  Confession,  either  by  changes  of  text  or 
declaratory  statement,  and  Dr.  Niccols  is  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  to  prepare  a  new  chapter 
on  the  Love  of  God,  Missions,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Our  readers  will  agree  with  us 
that  happier  selections  could  not  have  been 
made." 

When  the  General  Assembly  met  in  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Church,  New  York,  May,  1902,  Dr. 
van  Dyke  was  elected  Moderator,  and  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Revision  was  the  burning 
question. 

It  is  no  province  of  this  book  to  give  an  account 
of  the  whole  debate.  What  Dr.  Johnson  thought 
of  it,  and  how  he  regarded  it  is  what  we  are  after. 
He  says  that  the  Brief  Doctrinal  statement  is 
"  far  and  away  the  most  significant  and  signal 
action  ever  taken  by  American  Presbyterianism. 
It  is  the  realization  of  the  hope  of  years.  It  is 
the  product  of  more  light  from  God's  Word.  As 
more  light  in  nature  changes  the  appearance  of  a 
landscape,  throws  some  things  in  shadow,  brings 
out  other  things  more  fully  to  view  and  yet  does 
not  take  away  a  single  essential  of  the  landscapes, 


Mccormick  seminary       121 

so  that  restatement  gives  to  the  great  truths  of 
God  which  it  has  always  been  our  joy  to  hold,  an 
order  and  proportion  and  perspective  and  em- 
phasis born  of  the  better  knowledge  we  have  to- 
day of  the  Divine  word.  Eternal  truths  have 
not  changed,  but  their  relations  and  proportions 
have  changed. 

"  This  Brief  Statement  is  an  immortal.  Men 
may  try  to  hedge  it  about,  they  may  put  their 
limiting,  clamping  irons  upon  it,  they  may  bind 
it  with  bands  of  steel  and  bend  it  back  into  an 
iron  coffin  as  if  it  were  a  dead  thing.  But  this 
Brief  Statement  of  doctrine  is  an  immortal.  If  it 
is  ever  buried,  it  will  be  buried  alive.  And  by  the 
life  of  God,  and  of  the  truth  that  is  in  it,  it  will 
come  forth  from  the  tomb  the  conqueror  of  death 
and  remain,  we  may  well  believe,  for  centuries, 
the  balanced  and  tender  exponent  of  that  system 
of  doctrine  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  has 
ever  deemed  it  her  privilege  and  her  joy  to  cher- 
ish and  defend.  It  will  be  preached  in  thousands 
of  pulpits  from  the  first  article  to  the  last.  It  will 
be  committed  to  memory.  It  will  become  as  a 
familiar  household  word  in  Christian  homes. 
Whether  formally  placed  in  our  doctrinal  "  Hall 
of  Fame  "  alongside  our  Confession,  catechism, 
and  Apostles'  Creed  or  scattered  broadcast  as  the 
leaves  of  the  morning,  it  is  instinct  with  life  and 
love,  and  power  and  victory.  It  has  come  to 
stay." 

To  a  friend  he  writes : 


n2  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

June  1 6,  1 901 :  "  Yes,  to  my  mind,  matters 
shape  themselves  somewhat  as  follows.  A  new 
creed  embracing  the  essential  features  of  the 
old  Confession,  expressed  in  modern  way  in 
Scriptural  proportions  and  form  and  spirit,  as 
an  authoritative  and  official  interpretation  of 
what  we  as  Presbyterians  have  believed  and  do 
now  believe,  and  so  prepared  as  to  give  no  justi- 
fication whatever  for  the  judgments  passed  upon 
us,  and  the  charges  made  against  us.  Then  our 
doctrinal  standards  will  consist  of  the  old  Con- 
fession as  it  is  now.  The  larger  and  shorter 
catechism.  The  Apostles'  Creed,  and  this  new 
statement  of  our  faith,  is  interpretive  of  the 
others.  To  this  latter  alone  shall  subscription 
henceforth  be  required  inasmuch  as  it  is  to  con- 
tain all  that  is  vital  to  the  evangelical,  the 
Protestant,  and  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  sys- 
tem of  doctrine  now  in  our  common  standards. 
But  I  hope  by  God's  sweet  grace  to  hold  my 
mind  open  to  suggestions  from  any  quarter. 
That  we  are  on  the  road  to  some  change,  I  feel 
quite  sure.  Assembly  has  taxed  me  greatly  and 
put  me  under  nervous  strain.  Committee  work 
was  unusually  exacting,  but  things  went  our  way, 
and  that  of  course  made  the  burden  lighter.  On 
Revision,  the  paper  I  submitted  to  our  Presby- 
tery, and  which  passed,  came  at  last  to  be  the 
Commissioners*  action  of  the  Committee  on  Bills 
and  Overtures,  and  so  finally  the  action  of  the 


McCORMICK  SEMINARY         123 

Assembly.     So  we  are  again  face  to  face  with 
*the  question  of  credal  changes. 

"  We  are  now  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  Church 
through  the  Presbyteries.  But  I  do  not  beheve 
any  change  is  possible  at  the  sacrifice  of  funda- 
mentals. And  therefore  I  have  no  sympathy  with 
those  who  stand  trembling  for  the  Ark  of  God 
because  of  a  possible  change  of  hue  in  the  color 
of  the  curtains !  " 

Reference  has  been  made  to  Dr.  Johnson's  re- 
markably clear  and  resonant  voice  in  the  General 
Assembly  or  wherever  he  speaks.  A  reporter 
once  remarked  that  the  man  who  calls  out 
''  louder,"  "  louder,"  always  looked  sad  when  Dr. 
Johnson  got  up.     His  occupation  was  gone! 

All  through  this  time  of  intense  thought  and 
discussions  of  the  great  subject  of  Revision,  Dr. 
Johnson's  regular  work  in  the  theological  semi- 
nary was  going  on,  he  lecturing  to  the  various 
classes,  and  always  in  the  white  heat  of  intense 
conviction  and  superb  power.  He  met  every 
student  personally,  for  helpful,  inspiring,  sug- 
gestive criticism,  over  his  lecture  room  talks  or 
his  sermon  preached  before  the  class.  In  this 
work  he  never  spared  himself ;  he  was  faithful  to 
each  man — so  sharp  and  critical  that  it  would 
have  completely  upset  the  student  had  it  not  been 
accompanied  with  a  personal  magnetism  and 
kindly  spirit  and  loving  heart.  He  had  a  way  of 
assuring   the   poor   fellow   whom   he   had   shot 


124  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

through  and  through  with  criticism,  and  whose 
little  sermon  he  had  riddled,  that  all  this  was 
the  best  thing  in  the  world  for  him;  that  in  no 
way  could  he  be  made  a  first-class  preacher,  ex- 
cept by  being  knocked  down,  and  having  the 
pieces  picked  up,  and  put  together  again  in  a 
shapelier,  finer,  stronger  fashion  than  before. 

The  Rev,  John  T.  Faris  of  the  Board  of  Publi- 
cation, in  a  letter  to  the  Memorial  Meeting  in 
Philadelphia,  gave  a  humorous  account  of  Dr. 
Johnson's  criticism  of  a  paper  he  had  handed  in. 
"  A  few  days  after  my  paper  (a  written  test  in 
his  department)  was  put  into  his  hands  he  called 
me  to  his  desk  after  class  and  said  sadly,  '  Faris, 
that  paper  was  not  worthy  of  you.  It  was  not 
worthy  of  your  grandfather.'  There  wasn't  any 
answer  to  such  an  appeal  as  that  but  to  set  to 
work  a  little  harder." 

One  man  who  was  formerly  a  student  of  Dr. 
Johnson's,  now  a  very  able  and  brilliant  and 
successful  professor  in  a  theological  seminary, 
writes  to  me  about  his  influence  upon  him  as  a 
teacher.  ''  It  is  difficult  for  me  to  realize  that 
his  work  on  earth  is  done.  He  had  in  him  a 
strength  that  seemed  untouchable  by  years.  How 
much  I  owe  to  him !  His  strong  personality  and 
vigorous  thought  and  telling  way  of  putting  truth 
had  a  wide  influence.  America  has  never  had  a 
better  teachers  of  homiletics.  Men  strong  like 
himself  sometimes  objected  to  what  they  felt  was 
a  dogmatic  tone  in  him.    But  the  majority  of  men 


Mccormick  seminary       125 

in  the  seminary  needed  his  positive  message  and 
above  all  the  inspiration  which  he  gave  them  to 
speak  with  force  and  directness." 

And  not  only  was  all  this  personal  and  profes- 
sional work  going  on  all  through  the  years  of  the 
intense  excitement  of  the  Revision  debates,  and 
the  numberless  articles  written  in  its   defence. 
But   he   also   showed    a   most   remarkable   and 
fecund   treatment   of   various   other   subjects — 
Temperance,  Prohibition,  Dr.  Briggs's  supposed 
heretical  books,  and  also  Dr.  Giffert's.     It  must 
have  been  a  source  of  considerable  surprise  to 
those  who  regarded  Dr.  Johnson  as  severely  Cal- 
vinistic  to  note  the  breadth  and  fraternal  spirit 
with  which  he  treated  both  these  much  criticised 
men.      While    recognizing   their   divergence,    in 
some  respects,  from  the  generally  received  views 
of  Presbyterians,  he  stoutly  maintained  that  they 
were  orthodox  in  essentials.     He  insisted  that 
they  were  too  good,  true,  and  scholarly  to  be  put 
out  of  the  Presbyterian  fold.    And  that  was  right 
in  the  midst  of  the  intensely  bitter  fight  in  our 
Church  over  Revision  and  Heresy.     To-day,  if 
Dr.  Briggs  were  still  alive,  he  would  be  regarded 
as  the  mildest  kind  of  divergent  from  our  stan- 
dards, and  Dr.  Giffert— well,  some  of  us  would 
like  him  back. 

In  1902  came  Dr.  Johnson's  seventieth  birth- 
day, which  he  allowed  to  pass  quietly  by;  but 
when  some  of  his  devoted  friends  in  Chicago 
found  it  out  later,  they  declared  that  so  marked 


126  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

an  epoch  in  a  great  career  so  signally  useful 
must  receive  some  special  recognition.  A  com- 
mittee was  therefore  appointed  to  arrange  a 
dinner  to  be  given  in  Dr.  Johnson's  honor,  at 
the  Ministry  Club  on  the  evening  of  December 
1 6th. 

The  Interior  said  of  him,  in  view  of  this  din- 
ner :  "  Chicago  Presbytery  is  in  no  peril  of  insidi- 
ous dispute  over  the  identity  of  its  premier 
member.  By  virtue  of  his  now  advanced  and 
honor  commanding  years,  by  virtue  of  his  vast 
personal  influence  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  by  virtue  of  his  magnificent  wealth  of  en- 
dowment as  theological  preacher,  teacher,  and 
statesman  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  Dr.  Herrick 
Johnson  holds  a  preeminence,  among  his  fellow 
presbyters,  which  they  are  not  only  forward  to 
acknowledge  in  the  name  of  the  love  they  bear 
him,  but  which  they  are  proud  to  assert  as  one 
of  the  particular  glories  of  the  ecclesiastical  body 
with  which  they  are  jointly  identified.  There 
is  only  one  member  of  this  Presbytery  who 
remains  oblivious  to  this  distinction,  and  that  is 
Dr.  Johnson  himself.  He  will  count  himself  the 
equal  only  of  the  latest  ordained  minister  in  the 
Presbytery. 

"  Every  felicity  that  could  be  desired  for  such 
an  occasion  as  this  dinner  in  his  honor  attended 
this  delightful  evening.  Arrangements  for  dinner 
were  absolutely  perfect  in  details.  A  pleasant 
and  thoughtful  provision  for  the  event  had  been 


McCORMICK  SEMINABY  127 

the  collection  of  letters  of  congratulation  from 
alumni  of  McCormick  Seminary  and  the  Doctor's 
personal  friends  throughout  the  country.  A 
great  number  of  these  were  read  at  the  table, 
and  they  constituted  together  a  remarkable 
symposium  of  sentiments  of  affection  and  ac- 
knowledgments of  influence  from  many  who 
have  known  him  most  intimately  in  the  relations 
of  the  class-room  and  of  denominational  service. 
The  heartiest  and  most  beautiful  of  all  these  trib- 
utes was,  as  common  consent  agreed,  the  letter 
of  Mrs.  Nettie  F.  McCormick,  who  expressed 
gratitude  for  the  part  which  Dr.  Johnson  had 
borne  in  widening  the  efficiency  of  our  beloved 
Seminary,  also  for  his  worth  as  friend  and  spirit- 
ual counsellor  to  her  late  husband,  to  herself,  and 
to  her  children.'* 

The  after-dinner  speeches  were  chapters  in  a 
eulogium  of  rare  insight,  tenderness,  and  love, 
depicting  in  succession  the  elements  of  nobility  in 
the  character  of  the  evening's  guest,  and  the 
extraordinary  usefulness  of  the  work  which  he 
has  done  for  the  Master  and  the  Church. 

The  special  guests  of  the  evening  were  heard 
first.  Bishop  Cheney  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church  paid  a  heartfelt  tribute  to  Dr.  Johnson, 
and  Dr.  Simeon  Gilbert,  former  editor  of  the 
Advance,  voiced  the  high  admiration  of  the  Con- 
gregationalists  for  Dr.  Johnson's  statesmanlike 
courage  in  the  Christian  world.  Tributes  from 
members  of  the  Presbytery  then  followed  from 


128  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Drs.  Carson,  Notman,  McClure,  the  President  of 
McCormick  Seminary,  and  Professor  Geo.  L. 
Robinson.  Finally  Dr.  E.  C.  Ray,  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  College  Aid,  analyzed  with  loyal 
praise  the  character  which  Dr.  Johnson  had 
shown  in  his  relation  to  that  Board  as  its  Presi- 
dent. Dr.  McCaughan,  as  Chairman  of  the  even- 
ing, added  his  informal  testimony  to  the  esteem 
entertained  for  Dr.  Johnson  in  allied  Churches 
across  the  seas.  Mr.  Wright  then  presented  to 
Dr.  Johnson,  with  very  brief  but  felicitous  re- 
marks, a  silver  loving  cup  appropriately  en- 
graved to  commemorate  the  Presbytery's  recog- 
nition of  his  seventy-first  year. 

Then  it  was  the  guest's  time  to  reply.  The 
scene  as  he  rose,  and  as  the  company  rose  to  greet 
him,  will  be  for  long  years  a  theme  for  pleasant 
memory  to  those  who  were  gathered  in  that  ban- 
quet-room. There  was  applause  to  welcome  him 
before  he  began  to  speak,  but  none  as  he  pro- 
ceeded. The  feeling  of  the  moment  was  too 
tense  for  outbreaking  demonstration.  Dr.  John- 
son's response  was  not  a  speech,  he  simply  talked 
to  his  friends — at  first  in  low  strained  tones, 
which  emotion  was  almost  choking.  But  his 
heart-vibrant  sentences  as  he  declared  his  grati- 
tude for  the  love  of  his  brethren,  yet  protesting 
his  unworthiness  to  hear  their  praises,  were  far 
better  and  more  than  a  speech.  They  were  the 
unaffected  outpouring  of  a  great  man's  soul,  and 
his  words,  as  he  spoke,  ascended  from  the  beauti- 


Mccormick  seminary       129 

ful  to  the  sublime.  His  hearers  bent  forward 
listening — enthralled — while  he  summed  up  the 
learning  of  his  manhood  years  as  all  encompassed 
in  a  dearer  love  of  God's  will  and  God's  Word, 
and  in  a  deeper  appreciation  of  the  Lordship  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  With  shining  face  the  venerable  Doctor 
declared  his  exceeding  gladness  at  knowing  that 
ere  long  he  should  see  his  Saviour.  And  they  who 
loved  him  so  well  before,  loved  him  more  deeply 
than  ever,  as  twice  he  repeated  in  a  voice  of 
intense  fervor: 

"  I  am  just  a  poor  sinner  and  nothing  at  all. 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  all  in  all ! " 

I  wish  space  permitted  me  to  quote  all  the 
remarkable  letters  from  old  friends,  and  gradu- 
ates from  the  Seminary  who  had  had  the  great 
privilege  and  joy  of  being  under  his  instruction, 
he  received  that  night.  Room  must,  however,  be 
found  for  some  of  them.  First  of  all,  I  quote 
the  beautiful  letter  from  Mrs.  McCormick. 

"  December  i6,  1902. 
''  To  THE  Master  of  Ceremonies  : 

"  One  impulse  rules  us  all  to-night,  and  that  is 
to  show  the  love  and  loyalty  of  our  hearts  to  him 
who  has  been  to  the  Seminary,  these  twenty 
years,  a  wise  counsellor,  an  able  professor,  and 
unfailing  friend.  Often  it  is  said, — and  truly, — 
there  will  never  come  another  who  can  teach  the 


130  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

students  how  to  be  pastors,  how  to  lead,  and  win 
their  flock,  as  our  dear  Dr.  Johnson  has  done. 
"  I  remember  with  gratitude  all  about  his 
coming,  and  the  delightful  relations  of  friendship 
that  existed  between  my  dear  husband  and  him 
whom  we  would  fain  honor  to-night.  The  mem- 
ory of  the  visits,  the  talks,  the  cheer  he  brought 
to  him, — often  in  hours  of  physical  suffering, 
dispelling  pain,  and  making  him  join  in  whole- 
some, hearty  laughter.  Who  of  us  has  not  felt 
the  magnetism  of  his  honest,  ringing  voice  when 
bringing  out  his  convictions  of  truth, — who  of 
us  has  not  been  drawn  to  him  by  the  loving 
kindness  that  rules  his  nature?  He  has  been  a 
blessing  to  my  children.  There  is  a  mistake 
about  the  figures, — Dr.  Johnson  is  not  seventy ! 
Youth  still  looks  from  out  his  eagle  eye,  and  his 
good  right  arm  still  has  the  strength  of  ten! 
Long  may  he  remain  to  grace  the  pastoral  chair 
in  our  dear  Seminary! 

"  Nettie  F.  McCormick." 

Dr.  Allison  of  the  First  Church  of  Bristol,  Pa., 
wrote :  "  I  am  glad  I  can  write  you  while  you 
are  in  the  fulness  and  buoyancy  of  mature  life. 
I  thank  you  to-day  for  what  you  have  done  for 
my  boy.  If  he  shall  be  useful  in  the  pulpit  I 
shall  feel  that  humanly  speaking  you  have  been 
blest  of  God  as  a  largely  contributive  instru- 
ment.'* 

The  Rev.  David  R.  Breed,  D.D.,  one  of  Dr. 


Mccormick  seminary       131 

Johnson's  boys  in  the  Third  Church,  Pittsburgh, 
and  now  Professor  in  the  Allegheny  Theological 
Seminary,  wrote  as  follows :    **  I  am  anxious  to 
add  my  hearty  congratulations  to  the  many  you 
have  received  and  to  add  my  fervent  '  God  bless 
you,'  as  I  have  often  done,  in  my  private  prayers. 
Whatever  you  may  have  won  of  influence  and 
fame  elsewhere,  I  am  sure  you  have  never  won 
more   love   than   you    did   while   \n    Pittsburgh. 
How  devotedly  that  dear  old  Third  Church  was 
attached  to  you,  and  how  the  whole  city  admired 
you.    And  if  those  that  remain  of  your  old  flock 
could  have  spoken  at  your  banquet  I  think  your 
emotion  would  have  been  even  greater  than  it 
was.     I  am  mighty  glad  they  did  it  for  you.    It 
was  the  thing  to  do,  but  I  only  wish  they  could 
have  included  Mrs.  Johnson.     Was  there  ever 
sweeter,  truer  woman  in  any  capacity,  whether 
pastoress  or  parishioner,  than   she?"     Here  is 
one  from  another  of  his  Pittsburgh  "  boys  " — a 
cousin  of  Mrs.  Dr.  Johnson,  and  now  the  emi- 
nent Dr.  E.  A.  Reed  of  Holyoke,  Mass. : 

.. .  _  ^  "  January  26,  1903. 

My  dear  Pastor: 

"  I  have  received  a  copy  of  The  Interior  with 

an  account  of  the  celebration  of  your  seventieth 

birthday,  which  I  have  read  with  great  pleasure, 

and  although  it  is  a  little  late,  I  wish  to  add  my 

congratulations.     It  must  have  been  a   joyous 

event  in  your  experience,  and  the  remembrance 

of  it  will  always  be  blessed  and  inspiring.    I  am 


132  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

glad  that  the  brethren  had  the  good  taste  to 
say  something  while  you  are  with  us  and  still  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  can  easily  understand 
how  the  wealth  of  admiration  and  love  expressed 
touched  your  heart.  I  can  never  think  of  you  as 
growing  old,  but  as  one  full  of  energy,  hope,  and 
of  achievement,  even  as  I  knew  you  in  the  old 
Pittsburgh  days.  The  memory  of  those  days 
often  overpowers  me,  and  I  feel  grateful  for  the 
noble  impulses  and  inspiring  thoughts  which  you 
gave  me.  And  your  example  of  hopeful  and  un- 
tiring labor  has  been  an  informing  influence  and 
power  in  my  whole  ministerial  life.  I  rejoice  in 
all  the  good  work  which  our  blessed  Master  has 
enabled  you  to  do,  and  trust  that  you  will  be 
spared  to  the  Church  for  many  years  to  come. 
It  seems  a  long  time  since  I  have  looked  into 
your  face.  With  love  to  Cousin  Kate  and  your- 
self, I  am  as  ever  yours, 

"  E.  A.  Reed." 

Dr.  Covert  of  Chicago  writes  :  "  You  hear  so 
perfectly  that  not  a  whisper  of  friendship  can 
escape  you — and  so  plainly  that  not  a  single  beam- 
ing affectionate  smile  will  be  lost  upon  you.  You 
are  the  best-loved  man  in  the  whole  Presbyterian 
Church.  You  are  loved  because  you  did  so  much 
for  the  men  and  the  Church.  There  is  not  a  bit 
of  glamor  about  the  Herrick  Johnson  of  our  af- 
fections. It  is  the  genuine  old  man  himself  who 
has  us  by  the  heart-strings.    I  never  can  pay  the 


Mccormick  seminary       133 

debt  of  love  I  owe  you  as  teacher,  guide,  and 
friend.  It  will  be  a  theme  for  everlasting  con- 
verse on  the  sunny  slopes  of  the  everlasting 
hills." 

Dr.  Theo.  L.  Cuyler  writes :  "  Well-Beloved 
Brother,  and  more,  too.  It  is  only  this  morning, 
January  13,  1903,  that  I  learned  that  you  have 
marched  out  of  the  sixties  with  flying  colors  and 
have  come  into  the  seventies !  All  hail !  I  wish 
I  was  back  there  with  you,  but  next  Saturday 
my  old-time  clock  will  strike  81  !  Herrick,  my 
jewel,  you  have  had  a  grand  career,  sound  in 
heart,  sound  in  your  theology,  sound  in  your 
staunch  Presbyterianism,  and  blest  of  God  in 
your  untiring  labors.  I  would  like  to  have  been 
at  that  dinner  and  poured  out  my  soul  in  a  love 
tribute." 

The  late  Dr.  George  W.  Knox  wrote  Dr. 
Johnson,  December  30,  1902,  Pelham  Manor, 
N.  Y. :  "I  desire  to  add  my  congratulations  to 
the  chorus  which  greets  you.  In  all  my  course 
of  student  life,  I  think  of  three  or  four  men  at 
most  as  influencing  me,  and  really  worthy  of 
affection  and  grateful  esteem.  You  already  know 
that  I  place  you  high  in  this  small  group.  In 
my  Auburn  days  you  were  easily  first  and  hold 
a  place  apart  from  all  others.  Our  all  too  in- 
frequent meetings  have  been  delightful  to  me.  I 
need  say  nothing  as  to  your  public  career.  It 
has  not  only  been  distinguished  by  all  the  honors 
the   Church  can  bestow,   but   far  more   it   has 


134^  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

commanded  the  high  respect  of  all  for  its  cour- 
age, its  independence,  its  absolute  veracity,  its 
true  nobility,  as  for  its  intellectual  success.  In 
Union  Seminary  no  man  in  the  Church  is  so 
esteemed/' 

Dr.  William  P.  Merrill,  now  of  the  Brick 
Church,  New  York,  wrote,  December  15,  1902: 
**  I  hate  to  miss  the  gathering  of  your  friends,  for 
I  am  sure  that  no  one  of  them  can  love  and  honor 
you  more  than  I  do.  You  call  out  one's  love 
and  loyalty  in  a  rare  way.  I  count  it  one  of  the 
vast  gains  of  my  Chicago  experience  that  I  have 
had  the  privilege  of  friendship  with  you. 

*'  You  must  be  very  happy  over  the  returns 
from  the  Presbyteries  on  the  Revision  Overtures. 
Your  work  is  certainly  being  crowned  with  suc- 
cess, and  a  good  many  of  us  feel  that  we  owe  the 
happy  outcome  very  largely  to  you." 

Dr.  Samuel  I.  NiccoUs  of  the  Second  Church, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  wrote,  December  15,  1902:  "I 
heard  last  evening  incidentally  that  you  were  to 
have  a  birthday  celebration.  I  don't  want  to 
steal  in  uninvited,  but  I  do  want  to  stretch  out 
my  hand  to  you  in  congratulation  and  in  love. 
I  rejoice  that  you  were  born  into  this  sore 
troubled  world,  and  that  you  have  lived  so  long 
and  so  well  in  it.  I  suppose  if  Dr.  Patton's 
supralapsarian  view  is  the  correct  one,  that  you 
could  not  help  being  what  you  are,  and  that  I 
ought  to  rejoice  '  in  the  decree.'  But  somehow 
I  like  to  take  a  time  view  of  my  friends  and  to 


Mccormick  seminary       135 

rejoice  in  them,  and  to  thank  God  that  they 
have  '  fought  a  good  fight,  and  have  kept  the 
faith.'  You  have  come  to  the  appointed  limit  of 
life  in  honor  and  power.  Multitudes  bless  you 
for  your  ministry,  and  the  Church  owes  you  a 
debt  of  gratitude  for  your  service.  You  will 
live  another  seventy  years  in  the  lives  of  the 
young  men  whom  you  have  taught.  Your  min- 
istry will  be  multiplied  more  than  hundred  fold. 
Well,  I  congratulate  you  on  a  green  old  age,  and 
for  the  boy  that  still  lives  in  you.  I  trust  that 
God  will  permit  you  to  tarry  with  us  many  years, 
yet  I  know  that  you  are  anxious  at  times  to  be 
away  and  see  our  dear  Lord's  face." 

Dr.  George  B.  Stewart,  President  of  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary,  wrote,  January  3,  1903: 
''  My  heart  rejoices  in  the  honor  done  you  by 
your  brethren  in  Chicago.  You  deserve  it  all,  and 
more,  too.  Your  life  of  service  to  the  Church 
and  to  your  fellowmen  has  been  one  of  pre- 
eminent benefit.  Hosts  of  men  in  the  ministry 
feel  that  they  owe  a  lasting  debt  to  you.  Multi- 
tudes of  men  and  women  rise  up  to  call  you 
blessed.  Many  more  years  of  service  to  you 
here,  and  an  eternity  of  it  yonder." 

I  greatly  wish  that  I  could  quote  more  of  these 
letters,  written,  as  they  were,  right  out  of  the 
hearts  of  his  devoted  friends  and  pupils.  They 
reveal,  as  nothing  else  can  do,  why  one  was  com- 
pelled to  own  in  writing  about  Dr.  Johnson  that 
he  was  the  best  beloved  man  he  knew.    It  was 


136  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

not  simply  that  he  was  an  unusually  strong  and 
forceful  teacher  of  homiletics,  but  he  had  a  heart 
compelling  power.  He  loved  greatly  and  was 
loved  greatly — none  more  so. 

To  a  dear  friend,  who  had  been  obliged  on 
account  of  his  health  to  withdraw  from  the  ac- 
tive ministry,  Dr.  Johnson  wrote  from  Lake 
Mohonk,  Mountain  House,  June  6,  1902 : 

"  From  this  marvellous  scene,  looking  out  on 
God's  everlasting  hills  and  through  an  atmos- 
phere pure  as  heaven's  own,  I  send  you  my 
heart's  greeting.  You  are  a  '  shut  in,'  but  you 
have  great  company,  and  I  know  you  and  the 
dear  Master  are  having  a  good  time  together. 
No  place  can  be  lonely  with  Him!  Hospital 
becomes  palace,  and  desert  a  blooming  garden, 
and  pain  gets  translated  into  pleasure.  O  the 
magic  of  His  touch !  I  trust  it  will  please  Him  to 
make  this  second  enforced  retirement  a  passage- 
way to  renewed  vigor  and  something  of  the  old 
virile  swing.  Your  letter  was  a  good  while 
reaching  me.  But  I  hasten  to  send  a  message 
into  your  retreat  and  to  assure  you  of  my  love 
and  sympathy.  Katie  joins  me  in  the  heartiest 
remembrance,  and  we  will  make  mention  of  you 
often  in  our  talks  with  God.  Mohonk  is  still 
the  peerless  place,  and  to-day  it  seems  more 
beautiful  than  ever.  I  wish  you  and  your  wife 
could  run  up  here  for  a  day  or  two,  on  your  way 
to  your  summer  resting-place.     Now  that  Revi- 


McCORIVnCK  SEMINARY  137 

sion  is  on  the  sure  road  to  constitutional  stand- 
ing in  our  beloved  Zion  and  the  '  brief  statement 
of  the  Reformed  Faith  '  is  here  to  stay,  I  am 
ready  to  sing  with  good  old  Simeon  'Nunc 
dimittis ! '  Good-bye,  brave,  great  heart,  good- 
bye. 

"  Affectionately,  Herrick." 

In  January,    1903,   Dr.   Johnson   quoted   this 
verse  on  *'  Bright  Things  " : 

"  When  you   see  a  sky  of  blue 
Think  that  sky  was  made  for  you ; 
When  the  breeze  bends  down  the  trees 
You  just  think  that  that's  your  breeze; 
Every  blessed  drop  of  dew 
Falls  upon  the  rose  for  you." 

To  v^rhich  he  added  this  verse  of  his  own : 

"When  clouds  sweep  a  blackened  sky 
Think  God's  cloud  of  mercy  nigh; 
When  the  breeze  roots  up  the  trees 
You  just  think  that  that's  your  breeze; 
Every  storm  and  stress  and  sting 
Is  God's  way  of  bettering." 

On  April  8,  1903,  he  wrote  to  a  familiar 
friend : 

"...  Yes,  e'en  down  to  old  age,  I  find  it 
hard  to  get  any  leisure.  It  almost  seems  as  if  I 
were  never  quite  so  busy  in  all  my  life  as  this  past 
winter.  For  one  thing  my  assistant  (a  fine,  rare 
young  fellow,  by-the-by,  with  as  fine  a  wife  and 


138  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

cluster  of  blossoming  children  as  I  ever  knew) 
was  taken  with  pneumonia  before  the  holidays, 
and  is  still  very  weak,  and  will  be  unable  to  do 
any  seminary  tasks  until  we  open  in  the  fall.  I 
have  had  his  entire  work  since  the  middle  of  last 
December.  Through  adjustment  made  with 
him  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  I  had  been 
counting  on  large  leisure  after  the  holiday  re- 
cess and  partly  on  this  account  I  had  made  a 
number  of  outside  engagements,  which  I  could 
not  very  well  break  without  serious  disappoint- 
ment to  the  parties  interested.  Caught  between 
these  two  seas,  it  looks  as  if  I  should  be  sub- 
merged. But  thanks  to  a  gracious  Providence,  a 
resolute  will,  and  some  gumption  and  more  grit, 
I  have  pulled  through,  and  it  looks  now  as  if 
Commencement  would  be  passed  without  any- 
thing like  a  break.  The  banquet  was,  of  course, 
an  occasion  for  great  gratitude  and  great  joy, 
and  great  humility.  I  never  dreamed  of  what 
was  coming  in  its  fulness. 

"  The  letters  from  *  the  boys '  were  literally 
from  around  the  world,  and  utterly  unexpected, 
and  a  dear  surprise ;  they  came  pouring  in  even 
weeks  after  the  '  function '  was  over,  and  Katie 
has  arranged  them  in  a  scrapbook,  making  a 
volume  of  signs  and  tokens  of  a  dear  and  death- 
less regard  beyond  all  price.  Through  this  and 
all  other  scenes  and  experiences  and  trial  and 
triumphs  since  the  day  Katie  and  I  went  Maying 
by  Owasco  Lake,   she  has  gone  with  me,  my 


Mccormick  seminary       139 

pride  and  joy.  Next  to  the  gift  of  His  own 
Son,  another  ever  blessed  Spirit,  do  you  think 
God  has  ever  given  either  of  us  anything  com- 
parable with  the  bride  He  helped  us  woo  and 
win  forty-odd  years  ago?  Well,  we  are  in  the 
sunset  land  now  and  it  is  very  beautiful,  and 
for  the  hope  as  well  as  the  memory  that  is  in 
me,  I  could  cry  for  joy.  I  love  to  think  of  the 
dearer  intimacies  of  your  own  kith  and  kin  of 
two  or  three  generations.  Ah !  those  children ! 
and  the  children  of  the  children !  Ah,  me !  I 
wonder  if  God  won't  balance  things  when  we  get 
to  the  city  *  whose  streets  are  to  be  /////  of  boys 
and  girls,  playing  in  the  streets  thereof.'  Do 
you  remember  Charles  Lamb's  talk  about  the  first 
baby  in  heaven?  Perhaps  Katie  and  I  may  have 
two  or  three  of  the  elect  little  tots  '  dying  in 
infancy '  whose  parents  were  unworthy  of 
heaven — these  little  ones,  these  outward  breath- 
ing types  that  so  soon  into  stillness  passed 
again.  Perhaps  God  will  give  us  two  or  three 
as  our  very  own  when  we  go  home,  but  where 
are  my  thoughts  running?  Do  not  forget  to  tell 
McGififert  and  Knox  and  the  Gillets  that  I  think 
of  them  with  loving  interest.  "What  a  shame 
that  McGiffert  is  not  in  our  Presbyterian  fold. 
The  old  liners  are  still  trying  to  mop  out  the 
Atlantic.  "  Herrick.-" 

In  May,   1905,  the  McCormick   family  nobly 
endowed  the  seminary  with  one  million  dollars 


140  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

in  addition  to  all  that  they  had  already  given,  as 
a  perpetual  memorial  of  the  founder  of  the 
family,  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  the  distinguished 
inventor  and  great  benefactor.  The  donation, 
made  through  three  members  of  the  family,  v^as 
as  follows:  Mrs.  Nettie  Fowler  McCormick, 
$750,000;  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  her  son,  $125,- 
000;  Harold  F.  McCormick,  her  son,  $125,000; 
total  $1,000,000. 

With  this  came  the  gratifying  announcement 
that  the  Trustees  had  secured  the  distinguished 
and  able  Dr.  James  G.  K.  McClure  as  its  Presi- 
dent. "  He  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the  important 
duties  he  now  assumes,  and  no  man  could  have 
been  chosen  better  equipped  to  put  to  the  best 
uses  the  liberal  endowment  of  the  McCormick 
family.  A  new  chair  has  been  added,  that  of 
the  *  Science  and  Art  of  Preaching,'  and  it  will 
be  filled  by  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson,  who  retires 
from  the  chair  of  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theo- 
logy. He  thus  secures  the  letting  up  of  the 
severe  pressure  which  for  so  many  years  his 
professional  duties  laid  on  him."  Two  years  be- 
fore this  his  new  volume  of  Sermons  from 
Love  to  Praise  was  issued,  a  book  greatly 
prized  and  expressing  the  loftiest  thought. 

Dr.  Johnson  at  first  opposed  very  strongly  the 
Book  of  Common  Worship  as  prepared  by  a 
Committee  of  Ministers  and  Elders  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  who  worked  on  the  volume  for 
three  years.    For  some  time  he  wrote  against  it ; 


Mccormick  seminary       i4i 

but  as  he  had  come  to  see  at  the  time  of  the 
McKinley  Campaign  that  true  patriotism  called 
for  his  giving  up  his  adherence  to  the  Prohibition 
party  and  voting  for  McKinley  and  that  the  posi- 
tion v^hich  he  had  taken  on  the  *'  Two  kinds  of 
v^rine,  in  the  Bible  ''  was  not  really  scriptural,  he 
with  fine  candor  owned  his  mistake.  So  with 
that  open-mindedness  which  had  come  to  be  the 
beautiful  and  ennobling  characteristic  of  his  old 
age,  he  withdrew  his  opposition  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Worship,  and  stood  for  it,  for  the  rest 
of  his  life. 

Dr.  Johnson's  commemoration  address  at  the 
McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  1905,  was 
really  the  close  of  his  great  career  of  twenty-five 
years  as  the  greatest  teacher  of  Homiletics  and 
Pastoral  Theology  of  his  time  :  "  It  was  brilliant, 
tender,  and  impressive."  He  took  for  his  theme 
The  Man,  the  Institution,  and  the  Field.  "  In 
the  first  as  he  presented  the  ideal  man,  in  great 
part  he  unconsciously  portrayed  such  a  one  as 
he  himself  is  recognized  to  be  by  all  who  know 
him.  His  second  division  of  his  theme  seemed 
prophetic  of  the  Seminary's  future  under  the  new 
conditions  now  opening.  The  ideal  field  under 
the  third  head  was  one  that  called  out  the  best 
that  was  in  a  student,  and  aroused  him  to  the 
fullest  development  of  his  powers." 

It  was  following  this,  that  Dr.  Johnson's  re- 
tirement began.  This  personal  letter  reveals  his 
own  experience  in  that  event. 


142  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

"June  23,  1905. 
"  Your  good  word  is  like  a  gentle  breeze  waft- 
ing odors  from  a  flower  garden.  If  you  write 
from  your  summer  home  on  the  Island,  I  shall 
expect  the  smell  of  the  sea  shore  flung  by  a  stiff 
breeze  from  off  old  ocean.  So  I  would  have 
been  a  great  sinner,  would  I?  Well,  I  don't 
want  to  be  any  bigger  sinner  than  I  am  now, 
and  the  only  satisfaction  I  can  get  from  the 
situation  is  that  the  bigness  makes  grace  big. 
Do  you  know,  I  am  going  to  join  you  in  a  new 
sense  ?  You  say  you  '  are  no  longer  in  the  ac- 
tive service.'  Me,  too !  My  resignation  from 
all  seminary  position  and  work  goes  to  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  to-day.  My 
physician  says  I  must  say  good-bye  to  all  obli- 
gatory work  from  this  time  on  to  the  end.  Work, 
he  orders,  but  only  when  you  feel  like  it.  Let  all 
work  be  optional,  and  not  enforced,  appointed, 
obligatory.  Expert  opinion  corroborates  and  en- 
forces this  with  emphasis.  So  I  am  done  with 
McCormick  homiletics.  It  has  been  a  blessed 
twenty-five  years  of  toil.  '  The  boys '  made  an 
evening  of  it  Commencement  week,  and  I  was 
loaded  with  good  things,  though  they  didn't 
come  from  around  the  world,  as  they  did  on  the 
occasion  of  the  celebrating  of  the  seventieth  an- 
niversary of  my  birthday.  Well,  God  has  been 
exceedingly  good  to  me,  and  has  strewn  life's 
path  with  countless  and  most  blessed  gifts, 
among  the  chief  of  which  and  next  only  to  my 


Mccormick  seminary       us 

Savior,  I  count  my  Katie,  and  Charlie, — Charlie, 
dear  old  comrade  of  college  and  seminary  days 
and  my  life  lover  now  these  fifty  years, — God 
has  indeed  blessed  us  in  our  wives.  He  has  let 
us  keep  them  well-nigh  half  a  century." 

As  Dr.  Johnson  retired  from  the  active  duties 
of  seminary  life.  Dr.  J.  G.  K.  McClure  en- 
tered upon  the  new  office  of  the  President  of 
the  Seminary,  a  man  beloved  by  all,  and  singu- 
larly fitted,  by  nature  and  culture  and  rich  expe- 
rience, for  his  position.  His  coming  to  the  King- 
dom for  such  a  time  as  that  was  peculiarly  grati- 
fying to  Dr.  Johnson,  who  loved  him  as  a  father 
might  love  a  son.  I  quote  the  appropriate  tribute 
to  Dr.  Johnson  at  his  retirement.  "  Although  the 
directors  in  their  justifiable  desire  to  keep  him  in 
connection  with  the  seminary  provided  him  with 
a  lecture  chair  in  which  he  will  give  occasional  in- 
struction, yet  his  regular  work  of  teaching  the 
classes  the  principles  and  art  of  sermon  making 
is  done  and  hereafter  he  and  Mrs.  Johnson  will 
spend  their  winters  in  a  less  rigorous  climate  than 
that  of  Chicago. 

"And  what  teaching  it  has  been  that  he  has 
given  to  his  classes  for  these  many  years.  How 
clean  cut  and  clear  in  principle  and  how  well 
illustrated  in  practice.  Few  of  our  able  preach- 
ers have  known  so  well  as  Dr.  Johnson  how  to 
build  a  sermon  that  would  stand  solid  on  its 
foundation  and  rise  symmetrical  and  beautiful 


146  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

fectionate  relation  to  his  students,  together  with 
his  preeminence  in  service  in  the  Church  at 
large,  have  wrought  influentially  to  endow  the 
Seminary  with  its  present  conspicuity  and  power. 
**  The  Directors  express  to  Dr.  Johnson  its 
deep  sense  of  gratitude  for  his  tireless  devotion 
to  every  interest  of  the  Seminary  throughout  the 
years  of  his  connection  with  it  and  record  their 
regret  in  being  compelled  by  his  own  urgent 
demands  to  release  him  from  active  service  in 
the  Faculty.  The  Directors  desire  to  assure  Dr. 
Johnson,  as  he  passes  to  an  emeritus  relation, 
of  their  earnest  prayers  for  his  prolonged  health, 
and  a  long  continuance  of  his  honored  name  in 
connection  with   the   Seminary. 

(Signed) 

"  Wm.  C.  Covert, 
"D.  W.  Fisher, 
''C.  H.  Holt." 


VII 

AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME, 
1905-1913 

"  Grow  old  along  with  me ! 
The  best  is  yet  to  be, 

The  last  of  life  for  which  the  first  was  made. 
Our  times  are  in  His  hand 
Who  saith  *  A  whole  I  planned.' 
Youth  shows  but  half:  trust  God, 

Nor  be  afraid." 

— Browning. 

DR.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  moved  about  May, 
1905,  from  their  residence  on  the 
Campus  of  McCormick  Seminary  to  the 
Plaza  near  the  Lake  shore,  as  Mrs.  Johnson 
had  become  helpless  and  could  no  longer  have 
the  care  of  housekeeping.  She  was  taken  in  the 
summer  to  Mount  Clemens,  with  the  hope  that 
the  waters  would  be  beneficial. 

But  her  husband  wrote :  "  They  did  nothing 
for  her  and  she  came  back  as  she  went  out — car- 
vied  from  her  room  to  the  cars  and  from  the  cars 
to  her  room.  Some  wonderful  cures  are  efifected 
by  that  remedial  agency,  but  it  did  nothing  for  the 
dear  patient  sufferer.  We  were  at  a  sanitarium 
and  had  every  possible  care,  from  the  finest 
body  of  trained  nurses  I  ever  saw,  and  we  are 

147 


148  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

fortunate  on  our  return  in  getting  back  the 
trained  nurses  that  we  left  here  when  we  went 
to  Mount  Clemens.  Our  new  quarters  at  the 
Plaza  are  a  great  improvement  on  the  old,  and 
so  far  as  appointments  are  concerned,  as  to 
nurse  and  rooms  and  physician,  we  have  every- 
thing that  could  well  be  desired.  Well,  beloved 
friend,  this  evening  slope  of  life,  with  all  its 
limitations,  is  very  sweet  and  beautiful.  Lifers 
sunsets  may  be  as  full  of  glory  as  nature's.  I 
hope  to  get  out  a  book  or  two  soon,  that  in  some 
way  may  be  a  comfort  to  the  bruised,  and  a  help 
and  stay  to  God's  many  workers. 

"  Herrick." 

Here  is  another  cherished  letter  I  received  at 
the  time: 

"  The  Plaza,  Chicago,  February  i8,  1906. 
"  It  seems  a  good  while  since  we  have  had  a 
dose  of  old-time  fellowship.  Come  now,  let 
us  reason  together  or  muse  aloud  a  while  or  get 
on  to  the  wireless  telegraphy  or  call  up  some 
power  from  the  vasty  deep  that  will  put  us  in 
touch  with  each  other.  Knox  (G.  W.)  wrote 
me  some  time  ago  that  he  was  coming  on  here 
to  lecture  at  the  University  of  Chicago,  and 
would  try  to  see  me.  I  at  once  replied  that  see- 
ing him  would  be  a  dear  joy,  and  he  came  and 
called,  and  we  talked  of  many  things  and  per- 
sons  (for  I  have  been  pleasantly  tied  to  Knox 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    149 

in  many  ways  and  hold  him  in  a  very  dear  re- 
gard), and  he  told  me  something  of  you  and 
yours,  but  he  did  not  let  me  into  the  innermost, 
where  I  always  want  to  go,  when  you  are  up 
for  consideration,  and  I  am  longing  to  know 
how  time  and  the  dear  Lord  are  dealing  with  you 
and  yours. 

"  Perhaps  you  know  that  Katie  has  been  a 
prisoner  in  the  bonds  of  rheumatism  for  many 
months  and  virtually  helpless.  Away  back  in 
April,  last,  she  was  caught  in  the  grip  of  this 
tenacious,  pertinacious,  and  by  no  means 
gracious  thing,  and  has  scarcely  put  her  feet  to 
the  floor  since.  But  through  these  long,  weary 
months  she  has  been  a  brave,  patient  sufferer, 
sometimes  measurably  free  from  pain  and  never 
suffering  in  that  excruciating  way  which  some- 
times is  the  lot  of  rheumatics,  but  never  free 
from  aching  joints,  and  a  soreness  that  now  and 
then  spreads  over  her  entire  body.  We  had  a 
plan  for  last  summer  and  fall  that  included 
Mohunk  and  the  Maine  coast  and  Atlantic  City, 
with  an  indefinite  stay  at  the  latter  place;  but 
Katie's  condition  broke  it  all  up,  and  contrary 
to  all  expectation  I  came  back  to  Chicago  only 
to  find  no  provision  made  for  my  chair,  save  the 
distribution  of  a  small  portion  of  the  work  among 
the  other  Professors  and  the  Faculty  clamorous 
for  my  resumption  of  the  old  duties,  so  I  have 
been  doing  three  or  four  hours  a  week  through 
the  year.    I  close  this  work  this  week,  and  then 


150  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

I  shall  be  free  to  go  where  it  seems  best  to  go, 
and  promises  most  for  the  relief  of  the  dear  old 
Darling,  who  has  been  my  pride  and  joy  so 
many  years.  Do  you  remember  when  I  took  her 
for  '  better,  for  worse,  till  death  us  do  part '  in 
Auburn  forty-six  years  ago?  What  blessed 
crowning  years  they  have  been  of  love  and  fel- 
lowship !  What  awaits  us  of  joy  or  sorrow,  of 
pain  or  pleasure,  of  life  or  death  we  do  not  know, 
and  do  not  need  to  know.  We  know,  don't  we, 
dear  old  boy?  We  know  that  our  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  that  we  shall  see  Him  face  to  face. 
"  As  ever,  with  love  from  us  both, 

"  Herrick/' 

Later  on  he  wrote  (November  14,  1906,)  as 
follows :  "  Just  a  word  from  out  the  silence  to 
tell  you  that  we  have  spent  the  entire  summer 
here  in  our  rooms  at  the  Plaza,  on  the  south 
border  of  Lincoln  Park,  and  only  about  three 
squares  from  the  Lake,  that  we  have  been  very 
comfortable,  and  that  Katie  is  still  an  invalid 
and  in  rheumatic  bonds,  but  with  a  patience  and 
trust  and  peace  that  old  Rheumatics  can't  break 
and  legions  of  devils  can't  destroy.  They  are 
from  the  dear  Lord  and  as  beautiful  to  see  as 
they  are  prophetic  of  the  land  that  is  not  so 
very  '  far  off,'  and  whose  inhabitants  never  say, 
*  I  am  sick.'  We  see  no  special  change  in  her 
condition,  week  by  week,  the  lapses  and  the 
gains   about   keeping  the   balances   so   that   the 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    151 

average  state  is  about  the  same,  month  in  and 
out.  I  read  a  good  deal  to  her,  she  sleeps  quite 
well,  and  has  a  fair  appetite,  but  gains  no 
strength,  and  with  respect  to  many  things  is 
virtually  helpless.  About  the  only  writing  she  is 
equal  to  is  a  pencilled  letter  now  and  then,  a 
brief,  and  sometimes  almost  illegible,  scrawl  to 
her  only  living  sister,  Mrs.  Waldo.  Once  and  a 
while  she  manages  to  get  a  word  written  to  one 
or  two  of  her  old  friends  and  correspondents, 
but  she  can  hardly  hold  a  pencil,  and  only  uses 
it  at  all  with  some  weariness  and  pain.  She  has 
not  walked  alone  for  a  year,  and  has  not  been  on 
her  feet  for  months. 

*'  But  we  have  had  lots  of  blessed  fellowship 
with  each  other,  and  trust,  with  our  Lord,  in 
this  long  '  shut-in  '  period,  and  it  has  not  been 
without  its  blessed  compensations.  She  sends  a 
tender  message  of  love  and  greeting  to  you  both. 
It  was  well  that  I  gave  up  my  work  at  the 
Seminary  last  year,  and  insisted  on  absolute 
resignation.  Hill,  of  Portland,  and  one  of  '  my 
boys,'  is  in  my  chair,  and  making  his  first  im- 
pressions, and  they  give  promise  of  fine  things  in 
the  whole  field  of  applied  theology.  McClure, 
our  President,  takes  Pastoral  Theology  and 
Church  Government,  and  our  Seminary  ought 
to  do  a  great  work  for  God  and  our  beloved 
Church  in  the  next  half-century. 

"  Of  course,  if  within  the  possibilities  every 
living  man  of   1857  will  be  at  Hamilton  next 


152  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Commencement.  Be  there,  old  boy  (Deo  vo- 
lente),  and  let  us  make  it  a  reunion  worth  while. 
Do  you  know  that  it  is  also  the  seventy-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  organization  of  Alpha  Delta 
Phi  ?  What  a  blaze  of  glory  ought  to  be  lighted 
on  the  old  hill. 

"  Herrick.^' 

In  1907  he  took  up  the  work  of  revising  his 
remarkable  lectures,  which  hundreds  of  his 
students  wanted  him  to  publish,  preparing 
them  to  appear  in  a  book  which  was  most  ap- 
propriately named  "  The  Ideal  Ministry."  At 
the  time  of  its  appearance  I  reviewed  it  in  the 
Christian  Work  and  Evangelist,  the  substance  of 
which  I  here  quote : 

DR.  JOHNSON'S  "  IDEAL  MINISTRY  " 

The  ministry  at  large  will  regard  the  oppor- 
tunity of  possessing  this  book  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Herrick  Johnson  as  a  peculiar  privilege ;  for  Dr. 
Johnson's  work  has  not  been  done  in  a  corner. 
An  impassioned,  able,  and  eloquent  leader  in  that 
branch  of  the  great  church  to  which  he  has 
devoted  his  life,  his  distinguished  career  is  famil- 
iar far  beyond  its  bounds.  Those  who  have  been 
under  the  spell  of  his  powerful  and  persuasive 
preaching,  both  in  his  pastorates  and  when  he 
has  appeared  year  after  year  in  the  foremost 
pulpits  of  the  great  central  cities  of  our  land,  and 
who  have  known  of  his  extraordinary  success  as 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    153 

a  teacher  of  homiletics  in  two  of  the  leading 
theological  seminaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
will  be  glad  to  get  at  something  of  the  secret  of 
his  power,  which  this  book,  as  far  as  possible, 
furnishes.  And  his  many  pupils,  scattered  all 
over  the  world,  will  hail  with  joy  this  opportunity 
to  secure  permanently  his  entire  system  of  homi- 
letics. 

They  can  never  forget  the  white  heat  of  fervor 
kindled  in  their  souls  by  his  inspiring  personality 
as  a  teacher,  and  by  his  mastery  of  all  those 
sources  of  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual  power 
which  brought  them  to  his  feet.  Not  to  draw 
comparisons  with  other  great  books  by  distin- 
guished authors  and  masters  of  this  subject,  we 
do  not  hesitate  to  state  that  it  stands  in  the  very 
front  rank. 

Dr.  Johnson  is  no  mere  theorist,  as  some  pro- 
fessors of  homiletics  may  be,  who  have  had  no 
marked  personal  experience  of  success  in  the 
ministry.  His  fifteen  years  in  three  great  pas- 
torates gave  him  a  rich  and  varied  experience, 
out  of  which  to  begin  his  homiletic  teaching,  when 
Auburn  Theological  Seminary  called  him.  At 
once  the  young  men  felt  the  thrill  and  power  of 
this  man,  who  had  come  to  that  chair,  not  because 
he  had  failed  as  a  preacher,  but  because,  with  the 
greatest  success  in  the  ministry,  he  realized  what 
an  opportunity  was  thus  afforded  him  to  show 
the  hundreds  of  students  who  would  come  to  him 
how  God  would  use  and  bless  them  as  thoroughly 


154  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

equipped  and  devoted  preachers  of  the  Gospel. 
Men  like  Stryker,  Stewart,  Knox,  Riggs,  Bab- 
cock,  Merle  Smith,  Dickinson,  and  many  others 
have  ever  cherished  as  their  highest  privilege  the 
opportunity  afforded  them  in  that  Auburn  lecture 
room.  His  had  been  a  ministry  of  large  in- 
gatherings. Young  men  like  Breed  and  Reed  in 
his  church  at  Pittsburgh  were  brought  to  the 
Master  under  the  persuasive  power  of  his  minis- 
try, and  won  to  the  preaching  of  the  truth,  at  the 
time  of  precious  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  that  church.  And  when,  on  account  of  the 
health  of  his  wife,  he  was  forced  literally  to  tear 
himself  away  from  Pittsburgh,  where  he  was  al- 
most idolized  by  both  young  and  old  in  his  church, 
he  found,  in  his  year  of  apparent  exile  to  Mar- 
quette, on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  a  new 
baptism  of  power,  accompanied  with  a  revival  in 
that  little  church,  where  he  was  supplying  the 
pulpit  for  that  time,  which  for  intensity  and 
spiritual  power  will  never  be  forgotten.  The 
writer  of  this  article,  who  has  had  the  privilege 
of  intimate  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Johnson  from 
college  days,  still  cherishes  the  letters  written 
under  the  glow  and  joy  of  that  great  blessing. 
In  the  enthusiasm  of  his  young  life  he  would  go 
off  to  the  solitary  shore  of  that  great  lake  to 
prepare  for  those  services  night  after  night, 
singing  as  he  went  that  hymn  born  of  the  great 
revival  of  1857,  and  which  fairly  swept  through 
the  church  to  a  permanent  place  in  her  great 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    155 

hymnology,  "  He  Leadeth  Me,  Oh  Blessed 
Thought." 

It  was  from  that  notable  revival  that  Albert 
Barnes  called  him  to  Philadelphia  to  a  ministry 
similarly  blest  of  God.  So  that,  when  he  stepped 
from  the  throne  of  that  great  pulpit  to  the  Chair 
of  Homiletics  at  Auburn,  which  he  turned  also 
into  a  throne,  he  gave  to  his  teaching  the  charm, 
grip,  and  spirit  of  a  consecrated  successful 
ministry. 

It  was  not  strange  that  Chicago,  the  metropolis 
of  the  Central  West,  wanted  him,  and  would  not 
listen  to  a  refusal ;  and  the  result  of  his  work 
there  for  the  twenty-five  years  of  his  service  to 
the  Lord  in  McCormick  Theological  Seminary 
showed  the  wisdom  of  the  West  in  placing  him 
there  in  the  chair,  where,  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, he  wielded  such  extraordinary  power,  as  is 
explained  in  part  by  this  remarkable  volume,  A 
Comprehensive  Handbook  on  Homiletics.  Un- 
der God  it  may  be  truthfully  claimed  that  he  has 
changed,  and  lifted  up  to  a  very  much  higher 
standard  the  character  of  the  preaching  through- 
out the'  Northwest.  Many  young  men,  like 
Stevenson  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  responded  to  the  full  to  the  inspiring 
quality  and  character  of  his  teaching,  and  hail 
him  as  their  master  in  the  great  art  of  preaching 
the  Gospel.  And  this  book  gives,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  his  secret.  It  is  not  only  a  thesaurus 
of  knowledge  about  homiletics,  but  it  reveals  the 


156  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

great  heart  of  the  man  himself.  Some  who 
have  known  Dr.  Johnson  only  as  they  have 
crossed  swords  with  him  in  memorable  debates  in 
church  courts  have  perhaps  felt  that,  with  his 
power  as  a  logical  debater,  he  had  more  brain 
than  heart.  But  those  who  sat  under  his  min- 
istry,  and  at  his  feet  in  the  lecture  room  know 
how  his  strong  and  brilliant  intellect  is  illumined, 
and  heated  hot  with  the  glowing,  inexhaustible 
fires  of  his  heart.  Those  who  know  him  best, 
who  know  how  he  has  loved  and  loves,  call  him 
''  Great  Heart,"  and  this  book  shows  it.  It  gives 
a  keen  intellectual  analysis  of  all  the  sources  of 
power  in  the  ministry,  it  masters  that  depart- 
ment of  it,  and  it  is  pervaded  with  a  glow  of 
love  for  God  and  man,  of  devotion  to  Jesus  the 
Christ,  and  of  a  passionate  longing  to  save  men, 
which  is  a  very  sacred  revelation  of  the  inward 
life  of  the  author.  In  his  last  lecture,  *'  The 
Sermon — Why  Not  a  Soul  Winner,"  he  says : 
"  What  if  each  preacher  of  the  Word  should  call 
the  roll  of  his  sermons,  say  five  years  back ;  the 
text,  topic,  and  the  dominant  purpose  of  each. 
How  many  of  them  would  bear  this  characteri- 
zation :  '  Filled  with  a  mighty  persuasiveness ;  a 
sermon  that  was  after  a  soul  ?  * "  In  another 
lecture  on  "  The  Sermon's  Ideal  Topics,"  he 
says :  ''  The  preacher's  aim  is  salvation  in  the 
highest  sense :  reconstruction  of  manhood.  The 
preacher  is  to  reach  and  find  his  man,  and  then 
build  him  up  in  Christ  Jesus.    This  is  his  *  con- 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    157 

stant  absorbing,'  inspiring  purpose,  and  it  has 
only  one  possible  way  of  accomplishment  by 
the  truth  of  God  as  accompanied  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  The  Holy  Spirit  convicts  and  sanctifies 
men  only  by  the  truth — and  by  the  truth  not  as 
it  is  in  Socrates,  or  Plato,  or  the  stars,  or  the 
philosophies — but  as  it  is  in  Jesus — the  Christ." 
In  the  lecture  on  *'  The  Sermon's  Ideal  Con- 
stants "  he  quotes  Ruskin's  famous  sentence 
about  the  preacher's  opportunity,  *'  Thirty 
minutes  to  raise  the  dead  in !  ''  and  then  adds 
these  words :  **  Once  understand  this,  and  a 
man's  whole  soul  will  go  out  into  his  sermon 
every  week,  and  into  the  effort  to  make  it  all  it 
ought  to  be  as  a  word  of  eternal  life  and  death." 
The  author's  loving  loyalty  to  the  Great  Head 
of  the  Church,  and  his  consuming  love  for  the 
souls  of  men  flame  through  this  book  in  a  way 
to  startle  men  who  are  in  the  ministry  for  half- 
hearted service,  viz. :  "  Next  to  a  knowledge  of 
God's  Word  what  can  help  a  preacher  so  much 
as  a  knowledge  of  the  human  nature  that  is  be- 
fore him  thinking,  feeling,  wondering,  hunger- 
ing, yearning,  doubting,  hating?  *  Know  thyself.' 
But  know  others  also.  Psychology  is  important 
here.  But  mix  with  men.  Be  observant.  Get 
at  their  dispositions.  Discover  their  prejudices 
and  needs.  Learn  what  they  are  thinking  about. 
Do  not  leave  humanity  outside  of  the  study,  or 
at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit  steps.  Let  its  wants  set 
back  into  the  sermon,  and  determine  the  ser- 


158  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

mon's  bent.  Touch  with  the  touch  of  personal 
presence  and  companionship  its  great  throbbing 
heart/'  Here  is  something  in  the  same  lecture 
on  the  use  of  the  classified  text-book  which 
cannot  be  passed  by :  ''  Jot  down  in  it  .  .  .  all 
texts  that  seem  laden  with  new  riches  as  they 
go  flying  by.  If  the  text-book  is  not  within 
reach  use  a  piece  of  paper,  an  old  envelope — 
anything  to  make  it  sure  that  the  thought  and 
its  treatment  will  not  be  lost.  These  texts  that 
are  brought  down  as  it  were  *  on  the  wing/  that 
flash  unbidden  to  the  view,  and  grow  luminous 
on  the  instant  are  almost  like  inspirations,  and 
sermonizing  on  them  will  be  like  the  sweep  of 
the  eagle  cleaving  the  air  with  his  strong 
pinions." 

To  Dr.  Johnson  there  are  just  two  compre- 
hensive principles  which  make  up  the  entire 
substance  of  the  Gospel  commission.  To  rescue 
men  from  spiritual  death,  and  to  build  them  up 
in  spiritual  life.  He  claims  that  as  a  result  from 
working  faithfully  along  the  lines  of  these  two 
principles  all  that  is  involved  in  the  redemption 
of  human  society  in  its  widest  sense,  is  included. 
*'  Social  connections  will  be  revolutionized,  gov- 
ernment will  be  made  pure  and  peaceable,  right- 
eousness will  increasingly  prevail,  ethical  values 
will  have  wider  and  wider  recognition,  clean 
homes  and  clean  streets  and  clean  politics  will 
come  to  be  the  universal  order,  and  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  on  earth  will  at  last  witness  in  its 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    159 

completeness  to  'the  manifold  (variegated)  wis- 
dom of  God.'  "  We  commend  this  extract  to 
such  as  hold  that  orthodox  doctrine  and  preach- 
ing are  unproductive  of  or  do  not  minister  to 
the  vast  interests  of  civil  and  social  life;  and  to 
such  especially  as  regard  settlement  work  with- 
out definite  Christian  teaching  as  best  calculated 
to  redeem  and  enrich  the  great  seething,  suffer- 
ing centres  of  Christless  communities.  As  if 
men  trained  by  a  teaching  that  denies  to  them 
a  knowledge  of  and  personal  love  for,  and  faith 
in  the  glorious  Son  of  God,  could  ever  come  to 
their  best,  or  human  society  be  brought  to  its 
divine  ideal.  There  is  a  subtle  temptation  lurk- 
ing on  every  page  of  this  most  inspiring  volume 
to  quote  what  one  would  want  never  to  forget, 
which  has  to  be  resisted,  or  this  article  will  go 
far  beyond  its  proper  bounds. 

The  book,  as  to  its  printing  and  binding, 
is  exceedingly  well  done.  The  clear,  clean 
printmg  makes  its  reading  delightful.  We 
must  particularly  commend  the  author's  sane 
and  readable  punctuation,  acquired  undoubtedly 
from  the  Mandevillian  system,  which  he  studied 
at  Hamilton  College.  And  it  is  something  to 
consider  carefully  in  these  days  of  the  submer- 
gence of  the  comma,  the  absurd  misuse  of  the 
semicolon,  the  disappearance  of  the  colon,  and 
the  wide  dominion  of  the  "  dash."  The  striking 
picture  of  Dr.  Johnson  on  the  cover  of  the  book 
will  please  every  one,  and  cause  the  cover  to 


160  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

be  cherished  with  more  care  than  such  sHpping 
and  cumbrous  essentials  usually  receive. 

The  writer  of  this  article  is  confident  that 
the  charm  and  fascination  which  he  has  found 
in  this  truly  great  work,  and  the  flame  which 
goes  from  it  through  his  soul  lies  not  merely  in 
the  fact  that  its  author  has  been  a  life-long  be- 
loved friend,  and  not  merely  in  the  book  itself, 
but  preeminently  *'  in  the  man  behind "  the 
book. 

The  preparation  of  this  work  for  the  press 
was  carried  on  in  the  midst  of  the  deepest 
anxiety  over  the  condition  of  his  beloved  wife, 
who  passed  away  before  it  was  finished,  to  the 
great  grief  of  a  large  number  of  most  affection- 
ate friends,  throughout  the  country.  Miss  Hal- 
sey,  of  the  Women's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
of  Chicago,  said,  on  learning  of  her  death :  "  I 
have  always  esteemed  my  friendship  with  Mrs. 
Johnson  as  one  of  the  privileges  of  my  life. 
Here  was  one  of  the  sweetest,  rarest,  purest, 
strongest  spirits  that  ever  blessed  the  world.  I 
met  her  years  ago  on  the  train  going  to  our  an- 
nual meeting,  and  from  that  time  she  admitted 
me  into  the  inner  circle  of  her  intimate  friends. 
With  a  beautiful  mind,  trained  to  the  highest 
degree  of  culture,  with  unusual  gifts,  both  in 
speech  and  writing,  she  was  yet  so  unassuming, 
so  unconscious  apparently  of  her  rare  mental 
development.    Aside  from  her  intellectuality,  her 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    161 

marked  characteristic  was  her  tenderness.  This 
tenderness  made  her  voice  wonderfully  sympa- 
thetic. Every  one  who  has  ever  heard  her  read 
her  little  poems  will  remember  this  quality  that 
made  it  so  expressive.  She  was  an  admirable 
presiding  officer,  calm,  cool,  self-poised,  with 
full  knowledge  of  parliamentary  rulings,  ready 
for  any  emergency,  and  yet  magnetic  and  sym- 
pathetic, quick  to  perceive  an  opportunity  and 
seize  it  to  give  life  and  color  to  the  sessions. 
She  had  a  remarkable  voice  for  public  speaking, 
clear  and  sweet-toned,  never  high  pitched  or 
loud,  yet  in  its  rare  carrying  quality,  without 
seeming  effort,  heard,  however  large  the  audi- 
torium. 

"  The  qualities  that  characterized  her  through 
life  shone  out  with  added  radiance  during  the 
two  years  and  a  half  she  was  laid  aside  upon  a 
bed  of  suffering.  To  those  who  were  admitted 
to  the  intimacy  of  her  sick-room,  it  was  a  mount 
from  which  were  caught  glimpses  of  the  Celes- 
tial City,  to  which  her  eyes  were  ever  turning. 
Those  who  have  nursed  her  bear  testimony  to 
the  unfailing  cheerfulness  that  made  her  pres- 
ence a  benediction.  To  him,  sorely  bereft,  who 
has  walked  by  her  side  so  many  years  in  per- 
fect union  of  heart  and  mind  and  work,  our 
hearts  go  out  with  tenderest  sympathy.  Theirs 
was  an  ideal  marriage. 

'*  When  they  were  young  people  in  the  East, 
and  the  physicians'  verdict  was  that  the  bracing 


16^  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

air  of  the  Northern  lake  might  restore  her  to 
health,  Dr.  Johnson  resigned  his  charge  that 
he  might  go  with  her  to  Marquette.  On  being 
remonstrated  with  by  a  friend  about  this,  as 
he  thought  sacrificing  a  career,  he  said :  *  What 
is  a  career  to  me  if  I  lose  her? '  She  has  been 
spared  to  him  for  many  years,  an  inspiration 
to  others  as  well  as  to  him.  She  has  passed  over 
the  boundary  into  a  fulness  of  life  that  even 
she,  with  her  deep  spiritual  insight,  could  never 
have  imagined.  In  her  own  words,  I  cannot  say, 
and  I  will  not  say  that  she  is  dead,  she  is  just 
away. 

"  *  With  a  tender  smile  and  a  wave  of  the  hand 
She  has  entered   into  that  unknown   land; 
And  left  us   wondering  how   very   fair 
That  land  must  be  since  she  lingers  there.' " 

"  A  voice  in  the  twilight "  had  become  a  voice 
in  the  full  light.  Mrs.  Herrick  Johnson,  whose 
gentle  voice  had  been  wise  and  eloquent  in  mis- 
sionary councils,  gifted  with  lyric  and  comfort- 
ing powers  in  verse,  and  brilliant  and  tender 
in  personal  touch,  had  gone  from  a  life  of  in- 
validism, conquered  by  amazing  inward  renewal 
day  by  day,  and  from  two  years  of  help- 
less pain  and  spiritual  growth  and  beauty,  to 
the  place  where  there  is  no  more  sickness  nor 
any  pain. 

Two  are  more  than  one  and  one.  Herrick 
Johnson   would   have   been   one   of   the   great- 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    163 

est  preachers,  writers,  reformers,  ecclesiastics, 
theological  teachers,  and  personal  friends  even 
if  he  had  stood  alone ;  and  Mrs.  Johnson 
would  have  been  a  star  of  Christian  womanhood, 
shining  and  leading  lesser  ones  in  their  true 
orbits,  even  if  she  had  stood  alone.  But  who 
can  estimate  the  increment  of  intellectual  and 
spiritual  and  social  power  for  good  that  came  to 
each  from  the  ideal  union  of  two  such  concord- 
ant minds  and  spirits?  The  romance  of  her 
life  came  to  her  when  she  met  Herrick  Johnson 
as  a  young  divinity  student  at  Auburn,  and  at 
the  background  of  his  distinguished  career  in 
the  church  there  has  all  the  while  run  the  sweet 
history  of  a  lovers'  honeymoon,  which  only  death 
could  end.  The  funeral  at  Chicago  was  con- 
ducted by  Dr.  Johnson's  colleagues  in  the  Semi- 
nary Faculty,  and  the  venerable  professor  bore 
the  loved  dust  away  to  inter  it  in  the  quiet  city 
in  New  York  State  where  his  good  angel  en- 
tered his  life. 

Of  course  this  broke  up  the  beautiful  home 
he  had  had  with  this  rare  companion  and  gifted 
wife,  and  the  door  that  was  open  to  him  was  to 
go  to  his  half-sister,  Mrs.  Oscar  Gray  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  whose  early  education  had  been  a 
dear  charge  of  his,  and  whose  home  in  her  youth 
was  with  him.  They  were  tenderly  attached. 
Her  home  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  was  thrown  open  to 
him,  and  from  the  address  and  other  places  he 
wrote  me  the  letters  which  immediately  follow: 


164  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

"  4443  W.  Belle  Place, 
"  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  8th,  1908. 
"  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  and  characteristic 
reply  to  my  last.  This  is  to  tell  you  where  I 
am — here  in  old  St.  Louis.  The  city  of  Saint 
Samuel  Niccolls  and  the  home  of  my  sister,  Mrs. 
Mary  Gray.  Mollie  was  in  my  home  several 
years  at  Troy  and  Pittsburgh,  and  now  she  has 
turned  the  tables  on  me,  and  has  me  at  her 
home.  I  shall  be  here  awhile  at  least  and  pos- 
sibly till  I  go  to  *  the  House  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  Heavens.'  The  Ideal  Min- 
istry is  to  be  out  in  time  for  the  Assembly,  and 
I  have  ordered  a  copy  sent  to  you.  I  trust  you 
will  like  it.  It  would  have  been  worth  a  good 
deal  to  me  if  some  such  books  had  been  placed  in 
my  hands  when  I  entered  Auburn  Seminary. 
May  you  find  it  interesting  enough  to  go  through 
its  pages.  If  I  should  go  East  this  summer,  is 
there  a  place  where  we  could  meet  for  hobnob- 
bing and  reminiscence?  It  may  be  that  I  will 
visit  some  of  my  old  haunts,  where  my  beloved 
and  I  went  not  '  a-Maying/  but  *  a-Julying,'  or 
'Augusting  *  in  the  olden  golden  days.    As  ever, 

''  Herrick." 

On  June  10,  1908,  he  wrote  again,  also  from 
St.  Louis: 

"  Yes,  I  remember  the  old  Seminary  days, 
made  doubly  dear  to  me  now.  Auburn  gave  me 
my   Katie  and   my  theology   and   some   eternal 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    165 

friendships.  It  was  then  I  first  absorbed  Dick- 
ens and  fell  in  love  with  Mrs.  Browning.  You 
are  so  generously  appreciative  of  my  book  that 
I  shall  have  to  read  some  searching,  drastic 
criticisms  of  it  to  keep  the  balances. 

''  Oh,  yes,  we  would  have  been  better  preach- 
ers if  we  had  been  brought  up  on  richer  homiletic 
diet.  But  God  be  praised  for  what  we  had,  and 
Broadus  and  Beecher,  F.  W.  Robertson  and  Bur- 
ton and  others  have  been  mighty  helps  since.  I 
would  give  lots  to  meet  you,  old  boy,  and  it  may 
be  that  we  can  arrange  for  a  meeting.  But  as  I 
take  my  sister  with  me  East,  I  must  somewhat 
regard  her  wishes  and  tastes,  as  well  as  my  own. 
My  stay  here  is  made  most  comforting  and  peace- 
ful by  the  thoughtful  interest  of  my  beloved  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Gray.  But  I  hardly  know  yet  where 
I  shall  find  a  permanent  home.  Heaven  will 
open  to  me  some  day.  Meanwhile  I  mean  to 
trust  and  love  and  patiently  wait. 

*'  In  the  dear  old  bonds, 

''  Herrick." 

From  Lake  Mohunk,  August  2,  1908,  he 
writes : 

"  We,  my  sister  and  I,  are  in  this  wonderfully 
beautiful  region,  where  Katie  and  I  used  to 
come  in  the  summering  days  and  where  some 
of  our  dearest  delights  were  had.  We  shall  be 
here  through  the  month  of  August.  I  tried  to 
make  it  possible  to  be  with  you  a  few  days,  but 


166  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

circumstances  are  sometimes  mightier  than  re- 
solves. We  were  at  Saratoga  a  couple  of  weeks, 
and  amid  the  hallowed  associations  of  that  old 
resort  of  ours  I  had  many  and  precious  thoughts 
of  my  beloved.  They  are  tearing  old  Temple 
Grove  to  pieces,  making  a  kind  of  apartment 
house  of  it  for  young  women,  in  connection 
with  an  industrial  and  art  school,  founded  in  the 
village  by  a  wealthy  woman  of  Saratoga.  But  I 
found  a  sort  of  fascinating  satisfaction  in  crawl- 
ing and  climbing  about  the  old  building,  to  get 
into  rooms  Katie  and  I  occupied  so  many  sum- 
mers. My  sister  and  I  stopped  at  Dr.  Strong's. 
"  Well,  here  also,  in  the  midst  of  the  Mohunk 
glories  and  beauties,  memories  are  stirred  by 
the  associations.  This  was  one  of  our  favorite 
resorts,  and  it  is  as  near  an  earthly  paradise  as 
anything  I  know,  a  great  stretch  of  picturesque 
loveliness,  where  Katie  and  I  walked  and  talked 
and  communed  with  one  another  and  with  na- 
ture and   with   God.     Oh,  the   memories !   and 

the  hopes ! 

"  Oceans  of  love  to  you  both. 

"  Herrick." 

Back  again  to  his  sister's  home  in  St.  Louis, 
he  wrote,  September  1 1 : 

"  Your  delightful  letter  made  me  regret  the 
more  our  failure  to  get  together  this  summer.  I 
longed  to  see  you.  Our  stay  at  Saratoga  and 
Mohunk    was    very   enjoyable,    both    sweetened 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    167 

and  saddened  by  precious  memories.  I  did  want 
to  have  a  visit  with  you  by  the  sea  shore,  but  it 
was  out  of  the  question. 

''  I  am  back  here  with  my  sister,  and  am  con- 
templating a  run  to  Chicago  on  Monday.  The 
Seminary  opens  on  Tuesday,  and  I  find  myself 
longing  to  be  at  the  services  in  the  Seminary 
Chapel.  I  shall  only  stay  a  day  or  two  in  all 
probability,  and  what  I  shall  permanently  deter- 
mine upon  is  altogether  uncertain.  The  ties  that 
bind  me  to  the  Seminary  are  very  precious,  and 
the  associations  of  twenty-eight  years  are  very 
strong.  I  don't  quite  take  to  establishing  new 
ties.  My  sister,  Mrs.  Gray,  is  kindness  itself, 
ready  to  respond  to  my  slightest  wish  and  full 
of  love  and  tenderness.  The  Waldos  have 
moved  to  Urbana,  where  their  son  is  now  Pro- 
fessor in  the  Illinois  State  University.  Mrs. 
Waldo  was  greatly  fatigued  by  the  journey,  but 
is  resting  and  rallying  fairly  well.  But  it  will 
not  be  long  before  she  will  go  to  her  Lord,  and 
the  four  Hardenburg  sisters  will  be  together. 
I  am  wondering  and  wondering  what  new  things 
God  has  in  store  for  them  who  love  Him.  I 
often  wonder  what  people  are  made  of  who 
think  Heaven  simply  a  place  of  mossy  banks  and 
flowing  rivers  and  gentle  zephyrs.  Good-bye, 
old  boy.  Love  to  your  wife,  and  a  hearty  wish 
that  the  evening  slope  of  life  may  give  you  both 
an  uninterrupted  vision  of  golden  glory. 

"  Aff 'yv  Herrick." 


168  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

"  I  find  my  heart  leaning  your  way  to-night,  so 
I'll  let  my  pen  wag  your  way,  too.  I  am  won- 
dering how  you  both  are.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
you  are  in  the  midst  of  plans  and  gifts  and  wishes 
and  prayers  anticipative  of  Christmas.  How 
my  Katie  used  to  anticipate  the  glad  day,  and 
devise  and  arrange  so  that  a  wide  circle  came 
to  be  included  in  her  holiday  remembrance.  And 
to  the  very  last  she  kept  up  the  blessed  business, 
even  when  the  physical  weakness  made  the  task 
almost  too  great  for  her.  This  last  year  has 
been  a  sad  sweet  year,  full  of  memories  most 
precious  and  of  hopes  most  inspiring,  and  the 
angel  of  my  heart  seemed  never  so  beautiful  in 
all  the  years  of  our  wedded  life  as  during  the 
months  I  have  walked  on  alone.  I  am  often 
wondering  if  Katie  knows!  I  know  the  dear 
Lord  knows,  and  I  know  He  has  ways  of  letting 
her  know!  And  so  I  know  that  Katie  knows  if 
it  is  best  for  her  to  know. 

"  My  time  is  quite  occupied  with  things, 
though  I  have  nothing  to  do,  i.e.,  nothing  com- 
pulsory. I  have  been  putting  some  few  touches 
that  seem  to  me  improving  touches,  as  my  book 
for  the  second  edition.  I  shall  make  another 
brief  addendum,  if  another  edition  is  called  for, 
on  the  *  Sermon,  Its  Ideas,  Introduction,  and 
Conclusion,'  following  the  chapter  on  the  *  Ser- 
mon, Its  Ideal  Topics.'  I  have  discussed  the 
'  Sermon,  Its  Ideal  Definition,  Its  Ideal  "  Con- 
stants,"    "  Immediates,"     ''  Cardinals,"     *'  Top- 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    169 

ics,"  '  but  strangely  enough  I  have  omitted  all 
discussion  of  its  ideal  introduction  and  conclu- 
sion, either  of  which  may  be  determinative  of 
pulpit  effectiveness.  How  I  came  to  leave  these 
minor,  and  yet  often  vital  parts  of  the  sermon,  to 
go  without  some  elaboration  and  emphasis  I  do 
not  quite  know.  But  the  wonder  is,  amid  these 
trying  days,  when  I  was  finishing  the  last  part  of 
the  book,  the  wonder  is  that  I  was  able  to  finish 
my  task  at  all.  For  day  and  night  I  was  in 
constant  ministry  to  my  darling  in  ways  that 
were  beyond  the  possibility  of  any  nurse,  how- 
ever trained  and  sympathetic.  The  press,  as 
well  as  the  dear  brethren,  have  been  very  kind 
to  me.  Aff'y,  as  of  old  and  evermore, 

"  Herrick." 

"  Your  Christmas  wish  and  greeting  added  to 
my  stock  of  joy  in  yesterday's  messages  from  all 
around  the  sky.  It  is  the  second  Christmas  I 
have  passed  since  Katie  went  home.  What  if 
we  could  get  greeting  from  there!  I  have  been 
wondering  what  she  would  say !  But  God's  seal 
is  on  that  door,  and  I  would  not  break  it,  not 
even  for  what  would  be  the  sweetest  thing  in  the 
world  to  me — a  message  from  my  darling. 

"  Friends  were  very  beautiful  and  bountiful 
in  their  remembrance  of  me.  What  a  world  of 
meaning  is  wrapped  in  that  word  sympathy! 

*'  And  now,  dear  old  boy,  what  if  I  should  look 
in  on  you  both  some  day  ere  long?    I  am  going 


170  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

to  Urbana,  111.,  to  see  the  Waldos  sometime  in 
January.  Mrs.  W.  is  very  feeble.  I  hardly 
think  she  will  live  through  the  winter.  She  is 
a  great  sufferer  from  rheumatism — has  been  in 
bonds  with  it  many,  many  weary  months,  and  it 
is  literally  wearing  her  out.  I  am  going  to  see 
her,  the  last  of  the  four  sisters,  before  she  goes 
to  meet  her  Lord  and  Katie.  I  know  it  would 
make  Katie  glad  if  she  knew. 

**  And  then  I  am  thinking  of  going  farther 
East  to  see  some  of  my  old  Philadelphia  parish- 
ioners and  friends.  My  study  and  sleeping  room 
are  waiting  for  me  in  the  dearest  of  homes  in 
Germantown,  [probably  he  refers  to  the  home  of 
his  very  dear  friend,  Mr.  Abraham  Perkins] 
and  the  two  hearts  that  *  beat  as  one '  are  out  on 
the  lawn  looking  this  way  longingly  and  eager 
for  my  coming.  How  do  I  know  this?  They 
have  sent  me  a  photograph  of  it  all,  so  I  am 
going.  Then  I  expect  to  run  over  to  New  York 
to  see  the  dear  brethren  there  for  two  or  three 
days,  and  perhaps  to  spend  a  night  with  Revell 
at  his  home  a  little  way  out  of  town,  where  he 
has  again  and  again  invited  me.  Now  I  am 
thinking  of  going  a  little  farther  on  this  con- 
templated journey,  with  Pelham  Manor  as  the 
terminus.  What  do  you  say  to  that?  Not  to 
spend  the  winter,  but  just  for  a  day  or  two.  Is 
Knox  making  his  home  now  in  Pelham  Manor? 
I  want  much  to  see  him  and  some  of  the  other 
Union  Seminary  chaps. 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    171 

"  I  am  thinking  of  starting  in  early  January. 
Blessings  on  you  and  yours. 

"  Aff  y.,  Herrick." 

Galen  Hall,  Atlantic  City,  May  lo,  1909: 

"  It  is  '  Galen  Hall,'  you  see,  and  it  is  fine.  All 
the  appointments  are  excellent,  the  rooms  for 
general  use  are  many  and  exceedingly  attractive. 
The  table  is  all  that  can  be  desired.  The  sleep- 
ing rooms  are  well  appointed  and  cosey.  I 
have  a  large  closet  in  connection  with  mine,  and 
a  fine  bathroom.  But  the  room  is  about  the 
smallest  one  I  ever  slept  in.  I  am  going  to  try 
to  get  more  room,  i.e.,  a  larger  one,  and  I  am 
promised  the  first  one  that  is  vacated.  But  the 
treatment — well,  I  had  my  first  one  this  after- 
noon and  it  was  simply  delicious.  I  felt  like  a 
new  man.  I  have  had  many  treatments  in  many 
institutions.  But  this,  to-day,  was  the  finest  by 
all  odds  that  was  ever  given  me.  Among  other 
things,  the  fellow  treating  me  shot  two  streams 
of  water  at  me,  hitting  me  first  in  front  and  then 
in  rear,  and  then  the  right  side  and  then  the 
left  side.  The  effect  was  peculiarly  fine,  fairly 
delicious,  and  the  reaction  was  simply  splendid. 
Come  and  try  it! 

"  I  suppose  you  will  soon  be  ofif  for  the  sum- 
mer. But  I  do  wish  you  could  be  moved  to  try 
a  week  at  Galen  Hall.  I  am  an  enthusiast  about 
Galen  Hall,  and  each  day  seems  to  let  on  more 
steam,  if  you  will  pardon  the  wretched  metaphor. 


172  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

I  am  here  through  August;  I  shall  preach  for 
Gesner  four  Sabbaths.  He  used  to  be  over  the 
Second  Church  of  Saratoga,  and  has  some  ad- 
mirable qualities  as  a  preacher.  He  is  very  much 
liked  here.  His  church  w^as  jammed  full  yester- 
day.   Good-bye,  old  boy.    Love  to  your  v^rife. 

"  Herrick." 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  February  9,  1910: 

"  I  have  just  been  reading  over  your  precious 
letter  of  January  29,  and  I  must  v^rite  again  to 
tell  you  how  it  touches  my  heart.  I  am  here 
with  my  sister,  Mollie,  where  I  first  found  shel- 
ter after  Katie's  home-going.  Of  course,  in 
one  5ense  it  is  not  '  home/  but  Mollie  is  very 
sweet  to  me,  and  lived  so  often  with  us  when 
Katie  and  I  had  a  home  together  that  her  pres- 
ence brings  to  mind  many  a  precious  incident  of 
the  old  days.  I  shall  run  over  to  Urbana  soon, 
the  seat  of  the  Illinois  University,  in  which  Dr. 
Waldo's  son  is  a  professor.  Mrs.  Waldo  is  near 
death,  I  think.  She  has  been  a  long  but  very 
patient  sufferer,  and  the  call  home  to  her  will  be 
a  blessed  relief. 

"  From  there  I'll  go  on  to  Chicago,  where  my 
old  comrades  in  the  toil  and  joy  of  fitting  men 
for  the  ministry  are  still  at  their  grand  task.  I 
hope  to  see  lots  of  the  old  and  dear  friends,  but 
most  of  all  to  meet  and  commune  with  Mrs.  Mc- 
Cormick,  who  has  been  to  me  for  thirty  years  a 
friend  indeed. 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    173 

''How  the  ranks  are  thinning!  I  mean  the 
old  ranks,  the  ranks  we  kept  strength  with  when 
we  were  buoyant  youths !  God  be  praised  for 
two  blessed  things,  memories  and  hopes. 

''  As  of  old,  so  now  and  evermore, 

"  Herrick/' 
April  29,  1 910: 

"  Are  you  expecting  to  be  at  Auburn  next 
week?  Do  you  know  what  a  fine  program  they 
have  for  Commencement  Week,  and  that  I  am 
one  of  the  speakers  and  not  in  it?  It  has  been  a 
great  disappointment  to  me  to  turn  my  back  on 
that  Alumni  feast.  I  was  to  speak  on  '  The  True 
Evangelism,'  and  it  is  in  my  heart  that  a  ringing 
word  needs  to  be  said  on  the  subject.  But  I 
could  not  get  at  it.  My  old  brain  kicked,  I  could 
not  put  it  in  the  traces.  And  I  could  not  soar 
with  it.  So  I  had  to  give  up  the  appointment, 
though  it  cost  me  a  big  lot  to  do  it.  You  see, 
old  comrade,  the  swing  of  the  old  days  is  going, 
if  it  is  not  gone.  I  can't  count  on  the  powers. 
They  get  sluggish,  they  go  wool-gathering.  They 
sometimes  sleep.  But  I  have  an  outline  on  that 
topic,  a  message  that  I  believe  needs  to  be  spoken 
and  some  day  yet  it  may  find  a  voice. 

*'  Let  me  know  about  your  summer  plans ;  we 
may  cross  tracks.    Love  to  your  wife.    Ever, 

"  Herrick.'' 

We  come  now  to  the  announcement  of  his  ap- 
proaching marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Duncan 


174  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

of  Louisville,  Ky.  The  sensational  press  in  re- 
ferring to  it  had  the  cruel  headings,  "  Eighteen 
and  Seventy-eight."  But  the  facts  should  be 
made  plain  that  Miss  Duncan  was  a  mature, 
cultivated  Christian  woman,  at  an  appropriate 
age  in  middle  life  for  marriage.  A  charming 
woman,  who  was  ready  to  make  a  beautiful 
home  for  this  homeless,  lonely  man.  And  the 
thousands  who  knew  and  loved  Dr.  Johnson  and 
mourned  over  his  sorrowful,  lonely  condition, 
will  never  cease  to  be  grateful  to  her  who  made 
during  the  last  three  years  of  his  great  life  such 
a  bright,  happy,  and  loving  home  for  him  out  of 
the  devoted  love  she  had  for  him. 

He  wrote  as  follows,  expressing  his  wonder  at 
getting  no  word  from  me  about  his  approaching 
marriage.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  had  really 
never  received  the  letter  and  knew  nothing  of  it, 
save  the  cruelly  incorrect  notice  in  the  paper : 

"  August  30,  1910,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
"  I  have  just  been  reading  over  your  delight- 
ful letter  of  May  last,  and  to  my  surprise  it 
bears  no  trace  of  your  having  been  notified  of 
my  prospective  marriage.  It  cannot  be  possible 
that  I  have  not  informed  you  of  it,  but  this  let- 
ter of  yours  of  last  May  is  the  only  letter  in  my 
possession.  I  cannot  believe  it  possible  that 
months  have  passed  with  no  letters  passing  be- 
tween us.  Surely  I  have  told  you  of  my  new  joy, 
and  surely  I  have  had,  or  ought  to  have  had,  a 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    175 

bunch  of  hearty  congratulations  from  one  of  the 
oldest  and  dearest  friends  of  the  old  days  and 
years.  It  comes  over  me  like  a  flood,  such  a 
possibility  of  silence.  I  am  to  be  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Duncan  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  on 
the  22nd  of  next  month. 

"  We  shall  take  a  little  bridal  tour  to  New 
York  and  up  the  Hudson  and  through  Lake 
George,  returning  to  settle  in  Germantown 
(Philadelphia)  early  in  October,  where  I  have 
already  secured  a  little  love  of  a  house  for  our 
future  home.  I  have  had  some  most  precious 
letters  of  sympathetic  and  tender  interest,  which 
has  been  a  great  joy  to  me,  and  I  am  simply 
astonished  that  I  do  not  find  yours  among  them. 
Dr.  Ray  wrote  me  a  wonderful  letter,  and  so 
did  Mrs.  Peebles  of  Lansingburgh,  Katie's  most 
loved  and  intimate  companion  and  friend  through 
nearly  her  whole  life. 

"  I  sent  your  name  to  Miss  Duncan  along 
with  a  whole  lot  of  others  to  whom  announce- 
ments, official  and  formal,  were  to  be  sent.  I 
won't  write  any  more  until  I  get  further  word 
from  you.  I  am  in  a  perfect  maze  of  uncer- 
tainty and  doubt  and  bewilderment. 

"  With  the  old  loving  heart, 

"  Herrick." 

I  wrote  him  as  soon  as  possible,  explaining 
that  from  June  all  through  the  summer  and 
autumn  months  I  had  been,  first  in  the  General 


176  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Hospital  at  Rochester  for  a  severe  and  very  dan- 
gerous operation,  and  then  in  the  Jackson  Health 
Resort  at  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  for  slov^  recovery, 
and  still  later  at  Block  Island,  R.  I.,  unable  to 
write  any  letters,  though  I  had  not  heard  from 
him,  and  then  came  this  reply  of  September  ii, 
1910,  St.  Louis,  only  about  ten  days  before  his 
marriage : 

"  No,  no,  no !  I  have  heard  nothing  of  your 
protracted  and  severe  illness.  I  little  knew  you 
were  so  far  down  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow 
of  Death.  What  a  weary  watching  and  wait- 
ing, and  what  a  glad  returning  to  life  and  love, 
and  such  service  as  God  may  fit  you  for.  Noth- 
ing henceforth  compulsory,  no  allotted  and  com- 
pelled tasks,  no  constraint  through  others  to 
work,  to  which  you  can  never  go  again  with 
leaps  and  bounds  and  with  feet  like  hind's  feet. 
I  find  a  real  satisfaction  in  my  limitations. 

"  If  I  ever  go  to  the  operating  table  I  trust  I 
may  have  the  same  spirit  of  trust  and  serenity 
that  marked  you.  I  certainly  have  something 
of  the  quality  of  endurance  that  marked  your 
case,  for  my  '  vital  organs '  have  served  me 
splendidly  through  all  the  years.  And  I  think 
with  a  quiet  life  and  no  obligatory  work,  and  a 
loving  woman  and  a  home  nest,  with  Miss  Dun- 
can's widowed  sister  to  share  it  v;ith  us,  and 
with  a  goodly  number  of  my  old  and  loved 
parishioners  in  the  immediate  vicinage,  the  even- 
ing slope  of  life  may  be  somewhat  useful  and 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    177 

very  beautiful.  Some  day  yet  we  may  get  to- 
gether and  talk  over  these  and  scores  of  other 
experiences,  and  thank  God  for  the  grace  that 
helped  us  in  sore  traits  and  made  us  at  last  fit 
for  the  Kingdom  and  glory.    Love  to  you  both 

"  From  the  same  old 

"  Herrick." 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  hungered 
inexpressibly  for  a  home  of  his  own,  and  it  was 
fairly  pathetic  to  see  how  he  enjoyed  it.  It  was 
a  lovely  suburban  residence  in  Germantown, 
Philadelphia,  an  old-fashioned  stone  house,  in  an 
attractive  lawn,  and  all  modern  improvements 
in  the  house.  The  charming  study,  opening 
onto  the  lawn,  the  delightful  reception  room, 
the  exceedingly  pleasant  dining  room,  their  own 
rooms  upstairs,  and  guest  chambers,  Dr.  John- 
son specially  enjoyed  showing  to  his  guests, 
whom  he  always  welcomed  with  characteristic 
cheer  and  bonhomie.  From  this  address  I  re- 
ceived the  two  characteristic  letters  which 
here  follow : 

"  6358  Greene  Street,  Germantown  Station, 

"Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  21,  191 1. 
"  Where  are  you  and  how  are  you,  and  are 
you  planning  to  be  at  the  Assembly  this  year? 
You  know  it  meets  at  Atlantic  City,  and  we, 
Marjorie  and  I,  are  going  to  run  down  there 
for  a  few  days.  Wednesday,  May  17th,  prom- 
ises to  be  a  great  day.    Dr.  Jowett  is  to  be  there, 


178  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

the  big  gun  that  has  just  come  over  the  sea.  I 
want  to  hear  him,  and  so  do  you.  Thursday  the 
Assembly  opens.  Marjorie  has  never  been  at  a 
General  Assembly,  and  this  will  furnish  a  good 
opportunity  to  see  what  a  splendid  thing  it  is. 
We  shall  return  to  Philadelphia  after  a  good 
taste  of  the  big  gathering,  and  huge  drafts  of  sea 
air.  I  don't  believe  that  I  could  stand  the 
racket  of  an  entire  session.  But  how  I  used  to 
enjoy  the  rush  and  roar  and  the  high  debates.  I 
have  hanging  in  my  study  a  group  of  fourteen 
Moderators,  taken  one  summer  at  Saratoga.  I 
don't  believe  such  a  large  number  has  before  or 
since  been  present.  It  was  the  year  we  or- 
ganized the  Board  of  College  Aid,  and  Moore 
was  Moderator,  and  the  ex-Mods,  were  Darling, 
Van  Dyke,  Sr.,  Roberts,  J.  T.  Smith,  Patton, 
Crosby,  Morris,  Paxton,  Craven,  Backus,  C.  L. 
Thompson,  E.  D.  Morris,  and  myself. 

**  How  the  ranks  have  been  mown  down ! 
Charlie,  we  are  among  the  older  white-heads. 
It  can't  be  long  before  the  call  to  *  come  up 
higher '  will  take  us  to  immortal  youth.  I  feel 
pretty  well  preserved  for  a  man  close  to  the 
end  of  79.  But  I  could  no  more  go  through 
one  of  those  old  debates  that  made  the  Assembly 
a  memory  for  life  than  I  could  fly.  I  think  you 
owe  me  a  letter;  make  believe  you  do,  anyhow, 
and  drop  a  few  of  your  epistolary  sweets  into 
my  capacious  maw.    Love  to  your  wife.    As  ever, 

"  Herrick.'' 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    179 

''  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  April  2,  1912. 
"  Just  a  word  of  affection  and  cheer.  Retro- 
spect and  prospect  seem  equally  bringers  of  joy 
to  our  hearts.  How  time  is  enlarging  the  num- 
bers of  our  loved  ones  over  the  river,  and  how 
the  ranks  on  this  side,  with  whom  we  have  often 
walked  into  the  *  Holy  of  Holies,'  are  thinning 
out.  Katie's  sister,  Mrs.  Waldo,  is  lying  very 
ill  and  quite  helpless  in  her  home,  in  Urbana, 
111.,  and  her  husband,  nearly  ten  years  older  than 
I,  waits  for  the  call  home,  and  a  little  grand- 
daughter may  soon  be  called.  Dr.  Waldo  has  a 
son,  a  Professor  in  the  University  of  Illinois, 
at  Urbana,  and  they  are  there  together,  the  aged 
grandfather  and  grandmother,  and  their  son 
and  his  wife,  and  the  children's  children.  But  it 
cannot  be  long  before  the  circle  will  be  broken. 
And  what  a  gathering,  a  family  gathering  it  will 
be  when  they  get  home!  Yes,  our  McCormick 
Robinson  is  a  smasher  when  he  chooses  to  step 
into  the  arena,  a  royal,  genial  fellow,  chock  full 
of  O.  T.  knowledge,  he  is  sound  to  the  core,  a 
lovely,  cheery,  whole-hearted,  genial  fellow,  and 
has  no  patience  with  the  extremists  in  higher 
criticism.  As  to  Beecher,  I  hold  him  in  warm 
and  reverent  regard,  a  careful,  well-balanced,  and 
critical  scholar,  also  sound  to  the  core,  and  just 
the  man  to  be  writing  on  '  Reasonable  Bible 
Criticism.'  We  hope,  Marjorie  and  I,  to  go  to 
Louisville  next  May.  You  know  the  Assembly 
meets  there  this  year,  and  it  was  Marjorie's  home 


180  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

for  years.  Of  course,  I  have  no  right  whatever 
to  be  a  commissioner  from  Chicago  Presbytery, 
though  I  am  still  a  member  of  that  body.  But  if 
there  are  not  many  hankering  to  go  this  year, 
there  is  a  possibility  of  my  being  made  a  dele- 
gate.   Good-bye,  dear  heart.    Love  to  you  both. 

"  In  the  old  bonds, 

''  Herrick." 

In  visiting  Mrs.  Robinson's  brother,  v^ho  was 
a  singularly  happy  paralytic,  and  his  very  dear 
family,  we  went  to  the  church  where  Dr.  John- 
son sent  word  he  was  to  preach,  and  dined 
delightfully  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson,  and 
her  sister,  who  was  living  with  them.  He 
was  so  unaffectedly  happy  to  have  us  as  his 
guests  and  to  have  us  at  his  table,  that  our 
hearts  went  out  with  warmest  gratitude  and  love 
to  Mrs.  Johnson  for  securing  such  a  home  for 
our  beloved  friend,  who  without  it  would  have 
been  so  unspeakably  lonely.  The  strong,  grand 
sermon  he  preached  with  that  thrilling  ring  in 
his  voice  occasionally  sounding  as  of  yore,  the 
still  eagle-like  glance  of  his  eye,  the  ride  with 
him  and  his  lovely  wife  to  their  home,  and  that 
social  dinner,  with  all  its  attractiveness,  re- 
mains as  an  ever  to  be  cherished  precious  mem- 
ory of  our  last  sight  of  him. 

In  writing  afterwards  to  us,  leaving  out  his 
introductory  loving  personalities,  he  adds: 
"  Your  letter  was  '  linked  sweetness.'    I  wish  I 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    181 

could  add  '  long  drawn  out/  but  it  was  a  joy 
to  have  you  and  your  beloved  in  our  home,  and 
it  was  a  real  satisfaction  to  preach  to  you  two 
sinners! 

"  I  have  a  sermon  on  the  '  Prisons  of  the 
Soul.'  I  am  almost  sorry  I  did  not  preach  it, 
but  it  lacked  the  adaptation  to  the  hour  that  the 
text  chosen  so  happily  furnished.  That  '  Foras- 
much as  ye  know '  is  a  great  stimulant  to  '  al- 
ways abounding.' 

"  We  are  so  glad  you  enjoyed  our  little 
modest  home,  and  I  am  so  glad  you  so  easily 
discovered  that  my  Marjorie  is  a  '  multum  in 
parvo.'  She  is  out  this  evening  to  hear  Speer  on 
*  Missions,'  but  my  having  a  cold  made  it  seem 
the  part  of  Providence  to  stay  indoors.  Good- 
bye, old  fellow,  and  assure  your  beloved  wife  of 
our  warm  interest  and  ever  watchful   regard." 

To  show  into  what  a  cheery,  sunny,  and  af- 
fectionate family  Dr.  Johnson  married  when  he 
took  Miss  Margaret  Duncan  of  Louisville  for 
his  wife,  I  quote  from  a  letter  written  by  Mr. 
W.  G.  Duncan,  president  of  the  Luzerne  Coal 
Company,  Greenville,  Ky.,  October  i,  1912,  on 
Dr.  Johnson's  eightieth  birthday.  The  letter 
has  this  on  the  file  in  Dr.  Johnson's  handwriting : 
**  Brother  Bill's  precious  and  cheery  letter,  con- 
cerning my  eightieth  birthday:" 
"  My  dear  Brother  Herrick  : 

**  We  reached  home  in  safety  and  found  all 
our  people  well,  and  we  have  been  having  de- 


18^  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

lightful  weather  ever  since  we  came  back.  We 
fully  expected  to  have  a  letter  in  Atlantic  City 
for  you  on  the  22nd  of  September,  that  being 
the  day  that  was  commemorated  by  you  and  your 
dear  little  wife,  the  day  that  marked  two  anni- 
versaries, the  first  being  the  anniversary  of  the 
day  that  your  two  hearts  were  made  one,  and 
the  second  being  the  anniversary  of  your  own 
birthday,  and  I  certainly  congratulate  you  on 
your  health  and  the  wonderful  preservation  of 
all  your  faculties  on  your  eightieth  anniversary. 
I  know  that  you  are  grateful  to  the  Master,  and 
you  ought  to  be,  for  such  preservation  as  en- 
ables you  to  climb  to  the  high  peak  from  which 
you  review  your  past,  and  look  forward  to  the 
future,  whatever  it  may  have  for  you.  And 
it  is  certainly  our  wish  and  prayers  that  He 
may  yet  have  in  store  for  you  many  days,  even 
reaching  into  many  years  probably,  and  may 
they  all  be  as  bright  and  happy  as  any  that  have 
been  reviewed  by  you  in  the  past.  Your  humble 
servant  thinks  that  he  is  getting  to  be  quite  an 
aged  man,  but  when  he  thinks  of  the  octogena- 
rian period  that  you  have  reached  and,  looking 
down  as  you  see  the  sunset  slope  of  life,  with  all 
the  strength  that  you  possess,  he  can  hardly 
hope  to  attain  to  the  height  and  the  nearness  to 
the  Master  that  you  have  reached,  because  it 
has  been  a  life's  work  with  you,  as  it  should 
be  with  all  of  us.  But  it  seems  that  when  I  get 
home  and  get  involved  in  commerce  and  business, 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    183 

that  I  too  often  forget  the  duties  and  pleasures 
that  I  owe  to  those  who  are  very  near  and  dear 
to  me.  It  is  so  easy  to  postpone.  This  little 
word  *  procrastination  '  is  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous words  in  the  language  and  causes  more 
troubles,  annoyances,  and  heartaches  probably 
than  any  other,  and  I  fear  that  I  permit  it  to 
let  me  say  from  day  to  day,  '  to-morrow '  I 
must  do  certain  things.  At  any  rate,  our  hearts 
were  full  of  love  for  both  of  you  on  that  day, 
and  we  spoke  of  it  in  our  home  and  in  our  pray- 
ers that  night. 

"  Again  hoping  that  you  may  both  be  spared 
to  each  other  and  to  those  who  love  both  of  you, 
we  are  most  heartily  and  sincerely 

"  Your  brother  and  sister, 

**  Bill  and  Katie." 

I  am  sure  that  it  will  be  a  great  gratification 
to  those  of  Dr.  Johnson's  friends  who  may  read 
this  record  of  his  life  to  learn  through  a  few 
quotations  from  many  happy  letters  how  satisfied 
and  delighted  he  was  in  his  home.  He  wrote 
at  this  time  to  his  sister-in-law,  whose  home  was 
with  them  in  Germantown,  but  who  had  been 
absent  quite  a  time  in  Louisville  for  treatment 
for  her  eyes.  Mrs.  Johnson,  in  writing  to  her 
sister,  writes  at  the  close  of  her  letter :  "  Her- 
rick  can  have  all  the  space  he  wants  to-day  for 
his  postscript.  He  often  tells  me  I  do  not  give 
him  enough." 


184  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

*'  June  3,  1913. 

"  Yes,  dear  Ella,  I  want  all  the  space  left  by 
your  considerate  and  ever-thoughtful  sister,  but 
I  am  not  sure  that  I  can  so  fill  it  that  you  will 
cry  for  more.  Indeed,  I  think  you  have  stopped 
giving  me  the  slightest  notice  lately,  not  even 
saying  '  dear  folks  *  at  the  beginning  of  your 
epistolary  chat.  Well,  if  I  can't  be  anything 
but  a  *  folk '  I  would  rather  be  that  than  a 
nonentity,  so  peg  away  with  almost  the  com- 
monest cognomens,  if  so  be  I  only  get  noticed. 
You  certainly  have  such  an  abundance  of  riches 
in  the  heart  line  that  you  can  afford  to  give  lav- 
ishly in  affectionate  expression,  even  to  an  old 
crank  like  me.  So  let  the  tender  mix  with  the 
commonplace,  and  don't,  don't  let  silence  reign 
in  the  kingdom  of  sisterhood.  Just  let  me  have 
a  share  in  your  epistolary  goodies,  and  the 
bigger  the  better. 

"  I  have  been  greatly  interested  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Assembly  at  Atlanta.  How  splendidly 
Dr.  Stone  of  my  old  Fourth  Church  outran  the 
fellows  that  had  let  their  friends  toot  and  toot 
before  the  Assembly  met.  A  good  deal  of  his 
success  was,  of  course,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  Pastor  of  my  old  church !  The  sure  road 
to  the  Moderatorship  was  through  that  gateway. 
I  got  in  that  way !  Though  Dr.  Niccolls  did  his 
best  in  tooting  Dr.  Dickey.  Good-bye,  dear  sis- 
ter.   When  are  you  coming  home  ?  " 

In  another  letter,  Mrs.  Johnson  wrote  at  its 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    185 

close :  "  I  am  sitting  at  Herrick's  desk,  and 
using  his  pen,  but  all  to  no  avail;  the  brilliant 
thoughts  of  his  brain  do  not  seem  to  put  them- 
selves on  paper  through  the  medium  of  his 
pen."  Then  Herrick  takes  up  the  laid-down 
pen: 

"  P.  S. :  The  brilliant  thoughts  are  here,  but 
they  are  not  Marjorie's,  i.e.,  if  they  prove  stupid, 
Marjorie  shall  mother  them,  and  if  they  prove 
brilliant,  count  them  as  Herrick's  own,  stamped 
and  sealed,  and  *  good  for  this  trip  only.'  But 
alas,  me,  the  brilliants  are  paste.  I  picked  one 
up  just  now  to  put  in  here,  and  lo,  and  behold! 
it  disclosed  its  quality,  and  I  pitched  it  into  the 
waste-basket.  By  the  bye,  have  you  forgotten 
that  there  is  a  brother  here  who  loves  you,  and 
who  thinks  he  has  at  least  a  little  bit  of  individ- 
uality, and  rather  prides  himself  on  being  *  not 
transferable  and  good  for  this  trip  only,'  and 
so  don't  like  to  be  bunched  with  a  lot  of  others 
and  called  folks?  You  seem  to  be  having  a 
royal  time,  as  if  you  were  the  Queen  Jewel  in 
a  cluster  of  brilliants.  Our  httle  niece,  Mary 
Elizabeth,  is  not  here  to-night  to  be  challenged 
for  a  game  of  rook,  so  we  tried  backgammon, 
and  Marjorie  bloomed  and  bloomed  with  zeros. 
If  she  really  wants  to  beat  her  boy,  she  should 
try  something  else.  Good-bye ;  we  think  of  you, 
love  you,  and  pray  for  you.    As  ever, 

*' Herrick." 


186  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

In  another  letter  he  writes  to  this  beloved 
sister-in-law : 

"  Dear  Sun-beaming  Sister,  what's  the  matter 
in  your  new  quarters?  Are  they  so  large  and 
exacting  in  their  claims  on  your  time  and 
strength  that  you  lose  sight  of  the  big  kid  and 
his  wife  located  here,  in  Germantown?  Your 
sister  is  threatening  all  sorts  of  reprisals,  and 
your  brother  is  saying,  '  Me  too,'  with  a  mighty 
emphasis.  If  I  knew  your  weak  point,  you 
would  get  a  walloping  never  to  be  forgotten. 
You  haven't  seen  me  yet  with  a  lashing  tongue! 
If  you  would  escape  all  that,  just  let  silence  be 
broken  by  a  loving  and  tender  epistle  to  Mar- 
jorie,  and  a  cartload  of  apologies  to  yours  truly. 
Marjorie  has  caught  a  cold  in  some  way.  But 
the  Doctor  of  Medicine  is  attending  to  her  case, 
and  the  doctor  of  theology  is  doing  his  best  to 
keep  her  in  good  cheer,  and  the  weather  is  so 
favorable  that  we  are  hoping  for  rapid  improve- 
ment. A  cheery,  hearty  letter  from  you  would 
be  a  fine  tonic.  We  are  reading  The  Master 
of  the  Oaks,  by  Caroline  Stanley,  and  like  it 
exceedingly.  She  puts  things  very  happily,  and 
every  page  is  alive  with  her  wit  and  wisdom. 
If  we  were  through  with  it,  I  would  send  it  to 
you.  Get  it  to  while  away  the  weary  hours 
you  must  be  enduring  so  far  away  from  your 
Germantown  home.  The  weather  is  delicious, 
and  Germantown  is  at  its  best.    It  seems  to  me 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    187 

that  the  place  never  looked  lovelier,  and  our  little 
retreat  is  quite  beautiful  by  a  flower  bed,  just  in 
front  of  our  back  porch.  All  we  need  now  to 
make  conditions  perfect  is — you  may  guess 
what.  Marjorie  will  add  a  word,  so  that  you 
will  see  that  she  is  gentle  and  loving  and  forgiv- 
ing, notwithstanding,  etc.,  etc.  Good-bye.  Come 
home  soon. 

''  Herrick." 

In  a  postscript  to  another  letter  to  this  sister, 
he  writes : 

"  Somehow  the  house  don't  seem  like  the  same 
home  without  you,  and  you  are  not  telling  us 
much  about  yourself.  Do  write  a  full,  clear, 
elaborate,  roseate  account  of  yourself,  and  es- 
pecially go  into  particulars  about  your  eyes.  We 
pray  for  you  every  day,  ask  the  dear  Lord  to  be 
round  about  you  as  a  shield,  and  in  you  as  an 
abiding  and  an  abysmal  joy.  Mary  Elizabeth 
seems  to  be  at  the  very  height  of  joy  just  now, 
because  she  and  her  wise  and  sober  Aunt  Dick 
beat  me  at  a  game  of  logomachy.  If  it  clears 
up  for  an  outing,  we  will  take  a  drive  through 
the  park.  Do  let  us  hear  often.  With  waves 
on  waves  of  love  from  us  all." 

This  was  one  of  the  bright  and  cheerful  post- 
scripts he  wrote  from  his  home  to  a  dearly  loved 
sister-in-law.  They  all  breathe  a  serenity  born 
of  his  great  hope,  and  of  the  abiding  presence 


188  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

of  the  Son  of  God  in  his  soul.  He  knew  he 
was  not  far  from  his  transfer  from  earth  to 
Heaven.  It  came  as  he  wished  it — suddenly, 
while  he  was  sleeping.  The  telegram  announc- 
ing that  he  had  gone  from  earth  to  Heaven  had 
its  exceedingly  painful  and  its  very  glorious 
sides.  His  devoted  family  and  his  large  num- 
ber of  devoted  friends  has  lost  him.  The 
world  will  never  seem  the  same  with  Herrick 
Johnson  gone.  But  he  has  gone  to  be  forever 
with  the  Lord.  A  very  abundant  entrance  was 
ministered  unto  him.  The  Son  of  God  must 
have  delighted  in  him.  All  the  way  through  life 
he  had  followed  Him,  broadening,  deepening, 
rising  in  his  spiritual  life  unto  the  end.  Indeed, 
there  was  no  end;  he  has  entered  into  life.  The 
adorable  Master,  the  Son  of  God,  we  are  sure 
rejoices  to  have  such  a  soul  near  Him,  with  Him 
in  the  glory. 

He  preached  on  Wednesday  night,  November 
12,  just  a  week  before  he  went  home,  at 
the  First  Church,  Germantown,  where  he  and 
Mrs.  Johnson  worshipped,  from  the  text, 
"  Their  Works  Do  Follow  Them"  (Rev.  14:13). 
The  sermon  appears  on  a  later  page.  His 
voice  was  in  fine  condition,  that  wonderful 
voice  of  his,  and  to  his  hearers,  who  listened 
with  rapt  attention,  he  seemed  to  put  as  much 
vigor  and  enthusiasm  into  his  preaching  as  a 
man  of  forty  years.  After  service  he  walked 
home,  about  eight  blocks,  and  to  one  who  asked 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    189 

him  if  he  felt  tired,  he  replied:  "I  feel  like 
a  morning  star.  It  doesn't  hurt  me  to  preach. 
There  isn't  anything  in  the  world  like  preach- 
ing the  Gospel.  I  would  like  to  be  at  it 
again !  " 

The  next  day  he  went  with  his  wife  to  the  city. 
They  lunched  there  together,  and  going  back 
home  before  her  he  met  her,  as  was  his  custom, 
at  the  station.  Saturday  evening  they  went  to 
an  entertainment  furnished  by  John  Kendrick 
Bangs,  where  Dr.  Johnson's  contagious  apprecia- 
tion of  the  lecturer's  humor  kept  the  people  near 
by  greatly  amused.  It  rained  on  Sunday,  his  last 
Sunday,  and  he  did  not  go  out.  But  in  every 
way  he  showed  his  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  day. 
In  the  evening  he  read  a  sermon  to  his  wife, 
and  they  sang  together  all  the  dear  old  hymns 
which  he  loved.  He  went  on  Monday  to  the 
ministers'  meeting,  lunched  in  town,  but  seemed 
very  tired.  The  doctor  did  not  think  any  occa- 
sion for  alarm.  He  seemed  better  on  Tuesday. 
In  the  afternoon  he  took  a  walk  with  Mrs. 
Johnson,  but  stayed  at  home  on  Wednesday,  his 
last  day.  He  often  spoke  of  how  glorious  it 
would  be  for  them  all  to  be  with  the  Lord.  In 
the  evening  he  played  backgammon  with  Mrs. 
Johnson,  and  slept  the  early  part  of  the  night. 
He  was  very  restless  the  latter  part  of  the  night, 
but  fell  asleep  again,  and  quietly,  without  any 
struggle,  passed  away.  He  had  requested  that 
at  the  last  there  should  be  a  most  simple  service. 


190  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

He  had  frequently  said :  "  Wouldn't  it  be 
blessed  to  go  to  sleep  at  night  and  wake  up  in 
Heaven  ? "  God  took  him  in  the  way  he 
wanted  to  go.  He  had  promised  to  preach  at 
the  Baptist  Home,  near  them,  Thursday  night, 
and  when  one  of  the  men  from  that  home  came 
on  Wednesday  to  see  him  about  it,  he  told  him 
he  would  be  there.  In  the  night  he  talked  about 
it,  and  Mrs.  Johnson  replied :  "  We  will  see 
how  you  feel  in  the  morning.''  In  the  morning 
he  was  with  his  Heavenly  Father.  Services 
were  held  at  the  house  on  Saturday  evening  at 
five  o'clock,  because  Dr.  Johnson's  sister,  Mrs. 
Oscar  Gray  of  St.  Louis,  and  his  half-brother, 
Mr.  Charles  Johnson  of  Webster  Groves,  Mo., 
did  not  get  to  Germantown  until  Saturday  morn- 
ing. The  service  at  home  was  most  satisfac- 
torily conducted  by  Dr.  Jennings,  the  Pastor 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  German- 
town,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dripps,  an  old  and 
dear  friend  of  Dr.  Johnson's,  and  who  has  him- 
self since  passed  away. 

On  Saturday  the  beloved  remains  of  the  de- 
parted were  borne  to  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  and  de- 
posited in  the  Hardenburg  family  burial  lot 
beside  those  of  the  first  Mrs.  Johnson. 

Accompanying  the  body  to  Auburn  were  Mrs. 
Johnson  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Walter  W.  Boone, 
of  Germantown,  and  her  brother,  W.  G.  Dun- 
can, of  Greenville,  Ky. ;  her  friend,  Mrs.  John 
S.  Lyons,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  also  Dr.  Herrick 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    191 

Johnson's  sister,  Mrs.  N.  Oscar  Gray,  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  and  his  brother,  C.  W.  Johnson,  of 
Webster  Groves,  Mo.  These  friends  were  all 
entertained  by  President  Stewart  at  his  home, 
on  the  Seminary  campus. 

Dr.  Andrew  Z.  Zenos,  who  represented  Mc- 
Cormick  Seminary  and  had  a  part  in  the  serv- 
ices, was  a  friend  and  co-worker  of  Dr.  John- 
son's for  many  years  at  McCormick  Seminary. 
Dr.  Zenos  is  Professor  of  Church  History  in 
that  institution.  He  was  entertained  here  by 
Rev.  Charles  G.  Richards,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  who  was  a  student 
under  both  Dr.  Zenos  and  Dr.  Johnson  at  "  Mc- 
Cormick." 

The  services  at  Bradley  Chapel  were  attended 
by  a  small  body  of  friends  in  addition  to  those 
who  had  brought  the  body  here  for  burial.  A 
number  of  beautiful  floral  tributes  were  sent  to 
the  chapel,  among  which  was  a  beautiful  cross 
of  white  roses,  chrysanthemums,  and  lilies  from 
the  Faculty  of  McCormick  Seminary. 

President  Stewart  read  several  selections  of 
Scripture,  taking  them  from  the  book  of  forms 
compiled  by  Dr.  Johnson.  Dr.  Zenos  spoke 
briefly  of  the  work  of  the  deceased,  but  said  that 
he  would  make  no  attempt  to  give  an  apprecia- 
tion of  his  life  and  work.  He  stated  that  a 
memorial  service  when  such  expression  would 
be  given  was  to  be  held  in  the  Fourth  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Chicago  at  the  first  of  the  year. 


192  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Following  his  remarks,  Dr.  Zenos  read  a  minute 
passed  by  the  McCormick  Faculty  after  they 
had  received  the  news  of  the  death  of  Dr.  John- 
son.   The  minute  follows  : 

"  The  news  which  has  just  reached  us  of  the 
death  of  our  beloved  colleague,  the  Rev.  Pro- 
fessor Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  brings  to 
our  minds  afresh  the  strong  personality  whose 
activities  and  influence  have  shaped  so  greatly 
the  history  of  our  institution. 

"  Dr.  Johnson  gave  to  this  Seminary  the  best 
energies  of  his  being.  He  came  to  his  class- 
room in  1881  out  of  the  midst  of  busy  pastoral 
work.  The  churches  which  had  known  his 
power  as  preacher  and  pastor  are  among  the 
leading  forces  of  our  denominations.  Churches 
in  which  history  had  already  been  made  ac- 
cepted his  leadership  and  rejoiced  in  his  power. 

"  From  Auburn,  where  he  taught  successive 
generations  of  young  men,  he  came  to  this  city 
as  pastor  of  a  church  in  whose  membership 
were  men  of  extraordinary  force  of  character, 
trained  in  leadership,  and  originators  of  great  en- 
terprises. While  this  would  have  been  to  most 
men  a  satisfying  arena  for  labor  and  struggle, 
to  Dr.  Johnson  the  opportunity  that  was  offered 
in  our  Seminary  appealed  with  an  irresistible  at- 
traction. It  is  not  to  the  classroom  alone  that 
his  activities  were  confined.  He  was  one  of  the 
builders  here  when  the  outlook  was  just  begin- 
ning to  brighten,  and  when  enthusiasm  and  gen- 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    193 

erous  optimism  were  the  prerequisites  of  the 
Seminary's  success.  Shoulder  to  shoulder  with 
men  of  power,  experience,  and  strong  will,  he 
labored  year  after  year. 

"  Generations  of  students  bear  grateful  testi- 
mony to  his  great  personality.  Were  any  dis- 
couraged, they  received  from  him  fresh  inspira- 
tion and  went  their  way  rejoicing.  Were  any 
needy,  their  anxieties  were  relieved  and  their 
studies  continued  by  reason  of  his  open-handed 
generosity.  Our  heritage  to-day  was  won  by 
such  work  as  he  and  the  others  unceasingly  and 
unstintingly  gave.  It  is  not  always  given  to 
our  great  men  to  see  the  fruit  of  their  labors, 
and  be  satisfied  therewith,  to  give  of  their 
strength,  and  yet  behold  the  crown  not  only  of 
the  institution,  but  of  their  own  abundant  toil. 

"  Dr.  Johnson  felt  that  he  had  rounded  out 
his  task,  and  that  he  could  retire  from  a  work 
nobly  done,  and  we  believe  that  in  these  last 
years,  when  he  was  resting  and  awaiting  the 
summons  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  his  Mas- 
ter, that  he  felt  a  joy  and  satisfaction  in  what 
he  had  done  for  the  young  men,  the  sons  of  the 
Church. 

"  We  sorrow  that  he  is  for  a  season  parted 
from  us,  we  do  even  more  greatly  rejoice  that 
he  can  so  triumphantly  enter  into  rest. 

"  In  this  hour  of  sorrow,  our  sincere  and  heart- 
iest sympathy  goes  forth  to  the  wife,  who  is  now 
deprived  of  his  love,  care,  and  companionship." 


194j  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

The  following  was  adopted  that  evening  by 
the  members  of  the  Faculty  of  Auburn  Theo- 
logical Seminary: 

"  The  Faculty  of  Auburn  Theological  Semi- 
nary would  record  their  sense  of  loss  to  the 
Seminary  and  to  the  Church  in  the  death  of  the 
Rev.  Professor  Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
of  McCormick  Theological  Seminary. 

"  Dr.  Johnson  came  to  Auburn  in  the  vigor 
of  his  manhood,  and  with  the  fame  of  preacher 
and  leader.  His  teaching  of  Homiletics  and 
Pastoral  Theology  had  the  authority  of  experi- 
ence, and  attracted  and  quickened  by  its  clear- 
ness and  positiveness.  He  gave  to  it  the  charm 
of  enthusiasm  and  sympathy. 

"  Drawn  to  Chicago  by  what  seemed  to  him 
the  unparalleled  opportunity  of  the  Northwest, 
Dr.  Johnson  never  forgot  his  Alma  Mater  and 
the  place  of  his  first  teaching,  but  rejoiced  in 
the  welfare  of  Auburn,  and  followed  his  former 
students  with  undiminished  interest. 

*'  Four  of  the  present  Faculty  think  of  him 
with  reverence  and  love  as  the  inspirer  of  their 
young  manhood,  and  all  the  Faculty  unite  in  the 
expression  of  gratitude  for  the  gift  to  the 
Church  of  a  preacher  and  teacher  so  devoted  to 
his  high  calling,  so  prophetic  in  his  vision  of 
opportunity,  so  effective  in  calling  and  training 
young  men  for  the  work  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry.*' 

On  December  7,  1913,  in  the  First  Church, 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    195 

Philadelphia,  Sunday  at  4  p.m.,  a  remarkable 
service  in  memory  of  Dr.  Johnson  was  held  by 
his  former  students  of  McCormick  Theological 
Seminary. 

Dr.  Edvv.  Yates  Hill,  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  where  the  Rev.  Albert 
Barnes  and  Dr.  Johnson  had  been  pastor,  pre- 
sided. The  Rev.  Robert '  E.  L.  Jarvis,  Ph.D., 
offered  prayer;  Dr.  David  S.  Kennedy,  editor 
of  the  Presbyterian,  spoke  on  ''  Dr.  Johnson  as  a 
Church  Leader."  The  Rev.  John  W.  Francis, 
pastor  of  the  Oxford  Presbyterian  Church, 
spoke  on  "  Dr.  Johnson  as  the  Author."  Dr. 
Joseph  W.  Cochran,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  spoke  on  "  Dr.  Johnson  as  the 
Preacher  " ;  Dr.  John  R.  Sutherland,  Associate 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and 
Sustentation,  spoke  on  "  Dr.  Johnson  as  Pastor 
and  Friend."  The  Rev.  James  H.  Dunham, 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  spoke  on 
"  Dr.  Johnson,  the  Educator."  I  wish  that  the 
space  assigned  me  by  the  publishers  would  allow 
me  to  quote  these  addresses  in  full.  I  trust, 
however,  that  they  will  appear  in  a  memorial 
volume  devoted  to  this  great  service,  together 
with  the  many  tender  and  beautiful  letters  sent  to 
Dr.  Hill.  All  of  these  are  well  worth  reproduc- 
tion here,  but  the  limitations  set  by  the  publish- 
ers make  it  essential  to  select  only  a  few.  Here 
is  one  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stryker,  the  President 
of  Hamilton  College,  Dr.  Johnson's  Alma  Mater : 


196  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

"  November  28,  1913. 
"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Yates  Hill. 

'*  My  Dear  Sir :  Under  the  request  of  Dr. 
Cochran,  I  write  briefly  this  inadequate  tribute 
to  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  as  I  knew  him.  I  had 
the  honor  to  follow  him  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
Fourth  Church  of  Chicago.  In  all  the  work  of 
the  Chicago  Presbytery,  1885-1892,  I  was 
closely  associated  with  him.  He  was  my  teacher 
at  Auburn,  1875- 1876.  He  was  an  honored 
graduate  of  Hamilton,  1857 — even  then  dis- 
tinguished for  his  public  forensic  gifts.  He  was 
selected  in  1903  to  make  the  memorial  address 
here  in  tribute  to  our  long-time  beloved  Pro- 
fessor Edward  North.  He  did  it  in  most  com- 
plete and  welcome  sort. 

'*  I  deeply  admired  the  masculine  strength 
and  courage  of  conviction  which  marked  all 
of  Dr.  Johnson's  career.  He  had  rare  spiritual 
energy  and  tenacity.  I  enjoyed  serving  under 
him  upon  the  College  Board,  which  was  his  child 
and  which  nobly  perpetuates  his  ardor  for  Chris- 
tian higher  education. 

**  He  was  a  good  and  kindly  friend  to  me,  and 
I  cherish  the  memory  of  his  long  and  wise 
service. 

"  I  send  my  greetings  to  those  who  also  loved 
him. 

"  And  I  am  yours  most  sincerely, 

"  M,  WooLSEY  Stryker." 


APTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    197 

From  the  President  of  the  McCormick  Theo- 
logical Seminary : 

"  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  President's 
House,  2348  North  Halsted  Street,  Chicago, 
December  3,  1913. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Hill  : 

"  It  is  with  the  greatest  gratification  I  learn 
of  the  intention  of  the  Alumni  of  McCormick 
Theological  Seminary  to  hold  a  memorial  serv- 
ice for  the  Rev.  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  in  the 
First  Church  of  Philadelphia.  Surely  such  a 
service  will  give  opportunity  to  his  former  stu- 
dents to  voice  their  admiration  for  a  beloved 
teacher,  while  the  very  walls  of  the  Church  it- 
self will  sound  out  the  praise  of  its  former 
Pastor. 

"  My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Johnson  covers 
almost  forty  years.  During  that  period  our  fel- 
lowship became  increasingly  intimate,  and  our 
friendship  increasingly  affectionate. 

**  I  knew  him  first  as  a  great  preacher,  and  I 
recall  with  delight  my  admiration  of  his  stalwart 
form,  his  vigorous  speech,  and  his  impressive 
personality.  Then  I  learned  to  know  him  as  a 
tender-hearted  pastor,  who  saw  deep  into  an- 
other's sensitiveness,  and  who  carried  as  his! 
own  another's  grief.  Still  later  I  knew  him  as 
the  inspiring  teacher,  sure  of  his  own  convictions 
and  summoning  his  pupils  to  accept  and  live  his 
views.    Then  there  came  acquaintance  with  him 


198  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

as  a  courageous  initiator,  and  I  watched  with 
dehght  his  movements  to  originate  the  College 
Board  and  to  secure  revision  of  confessional 
standards. 

"  The  phase,  however,  of  his  character  that  I 
most  love  to  dwell  upon,  and  that  seems  to  me 
his  commanding  glory,  was  the  magnaminity  of 
his  soul.  He  had  the  wonderful  faculty,  be- 
stowed upon  the  very  few,  of  preserving  sweet- 
ness of  spirit,  even  when  controversy  was  se- 
vere and  tended  toward  bitterness.  I  have  seen 
him  face  his  opponent  in  debate  with  absolutely 
unyielding  resistance,  and  then  when  the  debate 
concluded,  grasp  the  hand  of  his  opponent  with 
warmth  and  assure  him  of  his  good-will.  I 
never  knew  him  to  cherish  a  grudge.  His  was 
a  splendidly  loving  heart,  ready  when  the  sum- 
mons came  to  enter  into  that  perfect  life  that  is 
perfect  love. 

"  With  my  best  wishes  to  all  who  participate 
in  this  worthy  service,  I  am  cordially, 

"  James  G.  K.  McClure.^' 

Here  is  a  single  sentence  from  the  letter  of 
the  beloved  and  honored  Dr.  Charles  T.  L. 
Thompson,  for  many  years  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions : 

"  Our  Church  has  produced  few  men  like 
Herrick  Johnson — great  in  service,  in  friend- 
ship, and  in  consecration." 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    199 

From  Dr.  Johnson's  very  dear  friend  and 
Seminary  associate,  Prof.  Andrew  C.  Zenos,  this 
came: 

"  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  2330  North 
Halsted  Street,  Chicago,  December  3,  1913. 

Rev.    Edward  Yates   Hill,   D.D.,   Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

''  My  Dear  Dr.  Hill :  I  am  deeply  grateful 
for  the  opportunity  of  sharing  in  the  service  to 
be  held  in  memory  of  Dr.  Johnson  at  Philadel- 
phia. The  fact  that  such  a  service  is  planned 
for  in  a  church  with  which  he  had  ceased  to  be 
connected  for  nearly  forty  years  is  evidence  of 
the  strength  of  Dr.  Johnson's  hold  on  the  hearts 
of  his  friends.  He  was  indeed  a  many-sided 
and  great  man,  but  his  greatness  was  nowhere 
more  clearly  revealed  than  in  his  power  to 
arouse  affection  and  loyalty  in  the  hearts  of 
his  friends.  He  did  not  do  this  with  a  conscious 
effort,  though  he  enjoyed  and  appreciated  as 
much  as  any  one  else  the  possession  of  loyal 
friends.  It  was,  however,  more  the  unconscious 
magnetism  of  his  personality  than  his  deliberate 
action  that  drew  men  to  him  and  placed  him  in 
the  position  of  leadership  when  leaders  were 
called  for. 

"  My  own  relations  with  him  came  to  be,  in 
the  course  of  thirty  years,  of  the  most  intimate 
kind.  It  was  a  joy  to  see  him  enter  our  home 
and  make  himself  a  child  with  the  children,  to 


^00  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

hear  his  hearty  laugh  as  he  frolicked  and  jested 
with  them,  and  to  feel  the  warmth  of  his  genial 
presence  in  the  household  circle.  It  was  a 
privilege  likewise  to  be  allowed  access  to  the 
sacredness  of  his  own  home  life,  to  witness  the 
open-handed  and  lavish  way  in  which  he  ex- 
pressed his  affection  for  those  he  loved,  and  to 
admire  the  tender  care  and  courtly  chivalry  with 
which  he  always  treated  her  who  so  beautifully 
shared  in  all  his  public  labors  and  rewards  to 
the  end  of  his  active  connection  with  McCor- 
mick  Seminary. 

"  He  was  not  slow  in  making  his  friends  un- 
derstand that  with  him  they  must  be  free  to  ex- 
press differences  of  opinion  without  risk  of 
losing  his  esteem.  Loyalty  to  him  did  not  mean 
standing  with  him,  right  or  wrong,  on  all  ques- 
tions in  dispute  before  the  public.  In  private 
conversation,  as  well  as  in  public  debate,  he 
expressed  himself  emphatically,  fearlessly,  and 
vigorously.  He  gave  hard  blows  in  behalf  of 
what  he  considered  the  truth;  but  he  was  also 
willing  to  listen  patiently,  and  seemed  to  enjoy 
emphatic  dissent  from  his  views  as  long  as  it 
was  expressed  without  personal  rancor.  When 
the  controversy  was  over,  he  was  ready  to  re- 
turn to  the  unruffled  enjoyment  of  as  intimate 
fellowship  as  ever. 

"  One  was  not  tempted  to  think  of  doing  any 
service  for  Dr.  Johnson.  His  general  strength 
left  the  impression  that  he  was  never  in  need  of 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    201 

help  of  any  sort.  Nevertheless  he  was  sensi- 
tive to  the  slightest  sign  of  friendliness,  and  his 
generous  heart  always  magnified  whatever  was 
done  for  him  in  the  way  of  expressing  affection 
and  regard. 

"  His  public  services  and  character  will,  no 
doubt,  receive  in  other  ways  the  tribute  which 
they  deserve.  I  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  be  able 
to  add  to  your  service  these  few  words  of  a 
private  and  personal  appreciation  of  him. 

*'  Sincerely, 
"Andrew  C.  Zenos." 

From  his  lifelong  friend,  Dr.  Niccolls : 

"8    Hortense    PI.,    St.    Louis,    Mo.,    December 

4,  1913- 
"  Rev.  Edward  Yates  Hill,  D.D.,  1014  Clin- 
ton Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
"  My  dear  Dr.  Hill : 

"  Your  letter,  notifying  me  of  the  services  to 
be  held  in  memory  of  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson,  is  at 
hand.  I  greatly  regret  that  circumstances  pre- 
vent me  from  being  present  on  that  occasion,  for 
I  should  like  to  be  among  the  number  of  those 
who  will  come  to  render  their  tribute  of  honor 
to  his  character,  and  of  gratitude  for  his  services. 
*'  It  was  my  privilege  to  know  him  and  to  enjoy 
his  friendship  for  many  years.  I  gladly  bear 
testimony  to  his  rare  qualities  of  mind  and  heart. 
His  was  a  unique  and  most  attractive  person- 
ality.   No  one  could  enter  an  assembly  of  which 


202  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Dr.  Johnson  formed  a  part  and  fail  to  recognize 
his  presence.  It  was  dominating.  His  com- 
manding form,  the  expression  of  his  counte- 
nance, his  free,  vigorous  movements,  and  his 
manner  of  speech  proclaimed  him  a  born  leader 
of  men.  There  was  nothing  negative  about  him. 
Positive  in  speech  and  convictions,  there  was  a 
certain  royalty  which  compelled  attention.  He 
was  a  brave  and  fearless  fighter  for  truth  and 
righteousness,  never  trimming  his  utterances  to 
win  applause,  or  gain  the  favor  of  men. 

"  The  history  of  his  ministry  furnishes  many 
striking  illustrations  of  his  unfaltering  and 
heroic  fidelity  to  his  convictions.  He  was  not 
afraid  to  challenge  the  powers  of  darkness ;  yet 
he  was  no  controversionalist,  eager  to  cross 
swords  with  those  whose  convictions  and  inter- 
pretations of  truth  differed  from  his.  He  was 
broad-minded,  sympathetic,  and  tolerant  in  his 
judgment  of  others.  His  genial  and  lovable  na- 
ture, and  a  soul  quickened  by  divine  grace,  made 
him  incapable  of  cherishing  resentment  or  bit- 
terness against  those  who  differed  from  him  or 
opposed  him.  Who,  that  knew  him,  does  not 
remember  the  smile  that  illuminated  his  face 
and  the  joyous  words  of  welcome  that  burst  from 
his  lips  when  he  greeted  a  friend?  He  could 
laugh  heartily,  sincerely,  and  jovially,  which  is  a 
high  qualification  for  a  theologian  and  a  teacher. 
He  could  also  shed  tears,  and  weep  with  those 
that  wept.     He  was  genuinely  and  unaffectedly 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    203 

human,  keenly  alive  to  all  of  the  interests  of  life. 
For  this  reason  he  had  a  magnetic  attraction 
for  his  fellow-men  and  drew  them  to  himself  in 
interest  and  personal  affection. 

"  He  was  not  ambitious  to  secure  leadership, 
yet  he  had  it  as  by  divine  right.  His  preemi- 
nence in  the  Church  was  not  accidental  or  at- 
tained by  selfish  methods.  He  was  a  great 
preacher,  not  only  through  his  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures  and  his  ability  to  present  their  teach- 
ings in  systematic  form,  but  also  through  his 
power  to  appeal  to  the  consciences  and  hearts  of 
his  hearers.  Those  who  sat  under  his  instruc- 
tion in  the  Theological  Seminary  will  remember 
what  importance  he  attached  to  the  appeal  with 
which  a  sermon  should  close. 

*'  He  was  a  writer  of  good  books,  among  which, 
the  one  which  will  be  of  most  enduring  value,  is 
the  Ideal  Ministry,  the  rich  fruitage  of  his  long 
experience  and  ripened  wisdom.  But  the  most 
important  feature  of  his  public  ministry  was  that 
given  for  twenty-five  years  to  McCormick  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  By  what  he  there  wrote  upon 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  young  men  who 
came  under  his  instruction  he  has  multiplied  and 
extended  his  influence  throughout  our  country 
and  the  world.  They  are  '  living  epistles,'  each 
one  bearing  more  or  less  the  marks  of  his  hand- 
writing upon  them.  His  memory  is  an  inspira- 
tion to  them,  his  example  full  of  instruction. 

'*  Best    of    all.    Dr.    Johnson    was    a    sincere. 


204j  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

humble-minded,  and  joyful  Christian.  His  as- 
sured faith  made  him  '  glad  in  the  Lord.'  This 
was  the  secret  of  his  perpetual  youthfulness.  He 
never  grew  old,  save  in  bodily  powers.  He  did 
not,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  lose  his  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Church  as  his  years  multiplied. 
After  his  retirement  from  his  chair  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  he  became  an  attendant  for  a 
time  upon  the  services  of  the  church  of  which  I 
am  the  pastor.  Not  only  was  he  present  on  the 
Lord's  Day,  but  he  was  a  regular  attendant 
upon  the  weekly  prayer  meeting,  in  which  he 
took  part  both  by  prayer  and  exhortation.  He 
preached  powerfully  among  us  by  his  example. 
It  would  require  a  volume,  rather  than  this  brief 
letter,  to  give  an  adequate  estimate  of  his  char- 
acter and  ministry.  We  who  knew  him  and  were 
privileged  to  come  immediately  under  the  power 
of  his  personality,  thank  God  in  his  behalf,  and 
hold  him  in  loving  memory.  But  his  influence 
going  abroad  to  thousands  who  never  knew  him 
personally  is  one  of  the  priceless  legacies  of  the 
whole  Church.    Thank  God  for  such  a  man. 

"  May  a  double  portion  of  his  spirit  rest  upon 
those  who  have  witnessed  his  departure,  and  to 
whom  his  memory  is  so  dear. 

"  Fraternally  yours, 

'*  Sam'l   J.    NiCCOLLS." 

The  following  graceful  tribute  to  Dr.  Johnson 
is  here  reproduced  from  the  columns  of  The 
Continent: 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    205 

A  VALIANT  CAPTAIN  OF  THE  LORD'S 

HOST. 

The  Continent  is  gratified  to-day  with  the 
reflection  that  it  has  not  waited  until  his  death 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  briUiant  talents  which  Dr. 
Herrick  Johnson  so  powerfully  and  whole- 
heartedly devoted  to  the  religious  progress  of 
his  generation.  What  is  said  here,  therefore, 
accompanying  the  record  of  his  decease  at  his 
home  in  Philadelphia  on  Thursday,  November 
20,  can  only  be  reaffirmation  and  reemphasis  of 
previous  estimates  of  his  altogether  exceptional 
service  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  a 
service  compounded  of  half  a  dozen  varied  ele- 
ments, whereof  any  one  would  have  been  enough 
to  secure  his  name  permanent  remembrance  in 
the  Christian  annals  of  America. 

Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  was  born  in  Kaugh- 
newagh,  New  York,  September  22,  1832.  Grad- 
uating from  Hamilton  College  and  Auburn 
Seminary  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in 
i860.  Almost  immediately  he  leaped  into  the 
reputation  of  a  preacher  of  the  first  rank  for 
eloquence,  charm,  and  force.  Successively  he 
was  popular  in  the  pulpits  of  his  first  charge  in 
Troy,  New  York;  the  Third  Church  of  Pitts- 
burgh, and  First  Church  of  Philadelphia.  Then 
followed  a  period  of  six  years  as  professor  of 
homiletics  in  his  home  seminary  at  Auburn. 
Thence  in   1880  he  was  drawn  to  Chicago  to 


206  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

serve  as  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Church  with  inci- 
dental teaching  duties  in  McCormick  Seminary. 
Shortly  the  teaching  took  precedence  of  the  pas- 
toral work,  and  he  launched  out  fully  on  his 
greatest  lifework  in  connection  with  that  insti- 
tution. At  the  beginning  of  this  period  he  was 
elected  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
Springfield,  111.,  May,  1882. 

In  1905  the  advance  of  age  induced  Dr.  John- 
son to  retire  from  active  duties.  In  1907  he  lost 
his  wife,  whom  as  Miss  Catherine  Hardenburg 
he  married  in  Auburn  in  i860.  In  1910  he 
wedded  Miss  Duncan  of  Louisville. 

There  was  something  leonine  in  Dr.  Johnson, 
despite  his  slender  and  nervous  figure,  and  that 
daring  and  imperious  quality  had  endued  him 
with  the  magic  of  leadership  from  his  youth  up. 
Of  that  leaderly  power  he  gave  a  faithful  stew- 
ard's good  account  by  helping  to  cement  during 
his  young  manhood  the  then  recent  conjunction 
of  Old  and  New  School  Presbyterians,  by  forc- 
ing on  the  General  Assembly  the  necessity  for 
organizing  a  College  Board  to  advance  Christian 
education,  by  contributing  to  the  development 
of  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  by  calming 
the  hysteria  of  fear  which  threatened  to  obsess 
the  Church  at  the  period  of  the  Briggs  trials,  and 
perhaps  above  all  else,  by  his  persistent  and 
skilful  labors  to  create  among  Presbyterians  the 
public  sentiment  that  made  possible  the  liberating 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    207 

revision  of  the  Westminster  Confession  in  1903. 
It  is  full  measure  for  a  long  life  which  is  thus 
recounted  in  barest  outline,  and  even  this  enumer- 
ation does  not  include  the  incalculable  influence 
of  his  twenty-five  years  of  teaching  in  McCor- 
mick  Seminary.  As  professor  of  homiletics  there 
he  imparted  to  hundreds  of  the  ablest  men  in  the 
contemporary  Presbyterian  ministry  his  own 
thrilling  joy,  and  something  at  least  of  his  own 
entrancing  power,  in  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

To  those,  however,  who  were  in  any  degree 
privileged  to  enjoy  Dr.  Johnson's  personal  friend- 
ship, the  memory  of  his  monumental  public 
service  will  be  subordinated  to  the  tenderer  mem- 
ory of  the  "  sweetness  and  light "  of  his  private 
life.  With  all  his  strength  and  determination, 
it  was  yet  a  rarely  gentle  soul  that  dwelt  in  his 
bosom.  In  public  and  in  private  his  wholesome- 
ness  was  equal,  and  a  stainless  shield  is  the 
bright  ornament  of  the  earthly  armor  he  has  just 
laid  off.  Being  granted  in  God's  providence  an 
ample  span  of  duty  and  experience  here,  he  is 
not  to  be  mourned  as  he  passes  to  his  heavenly 
recompense;  not  sorrow  but  thanksgiving  for 
him  is  the  perfume  of  the  flowers  on  his  bier. 

The  concluding  pages  of  this  brief  biography 
I  shall  devote  to  the  words  of  him  of  whom  I 
have  written.  Here  is  his  last  message  delivered 
a  week  before  he  went  home  to  God : 


208  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Rev.  14:13  (last  clause).  "For  their  works 
follow  with  them." 

(Read  in  connection  Matthew  7:13-20.) 

We  sing  of  "  the  land  that  is  fairer  than  day." 
Where  is  it  ?  We  speak  of  the  land  that  is  "  very 
far  off."  Is  it  so  far  ?  Does  Death  end  all  ?  And 
if  not,  what  is  beyond?  Hints,  guesses,  sugges- 
tions, hopes,  probabilities,  analogies — these  all 
favor  a  future,  but  they  give  us  no  certainty, 
they  do  not  anchor  us  in  a  perfect  confidence. 
The  seers  of  the  race  have  sought  to  pierce  the 
mystery.  The  logicians  of  the  race  have  sought 
to  solve  the  mystery.  The  poets  of  the  race  have 
given  wings  to  their  imagination,  and  have  come 
back  laden  with  the  supposed  perfumes  and 
sports  of  that  unknown  world,  but  we  have 
known  them  to  be  only  dreams.  Wherever  man 
has  been  found  without  a  revelation,  under  what- 
ever climes  and  in  whatever  age,  he  has  stood 
with  some  desire  or  dread  of  a  hereafter,  peering, 
now  with  dull  and  heavy  sense,  now  with  keen 
vision  stirred  by  "  awful  thrills  of  curiosity,"  into 
that  mystery  of  the  future,  which  yet  has  eluded 
all  sight  and  baffled  all  knowledge. 

Clear,  beautiful,  and  certain  in  the  repose  of 
sublimest  confidence,  comes  the  word  of  Chris- 
tianity, assuring  us  of  immortality.  Christ'si 
vacant  sepulchre  is  the  open  door  telling  us 
unmistakably  of  room  beyond.  Looking  through 
that  rent  tomb,  we  grow  sure  Death  does  not 
end  all.    Guesses,  probabilities,  peradventures  are 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    209 

done  with,  it  is  knowledge  now.  We  do  know 
that  if  this  earthly  house  of  our  tabernacle 
perish,  we  do  not  die. 

But  whither  after  death,  and  what?  The  fact 
of  immortality  assured,  what  about  the  kind  ?  Is 
it  so  wide  apart  from  now  ?  Is  the  future  life  so 
unlike  the  present  life  as  to  make  true  the  in- 
finite contrasts  we  so  commonly  think  of,  when 
we  think  of  this  matter  at  all  ?  Yes  and  no.  The 
answer  will  depend  upon  our  point  of  view.  We 
shall  be  without  a  body,  and  that  will  be  one 
marvellous  difference  between  then  and  now. 
For  the  spirit  to  be  free  from  every  clamp  and 
hindrance  of  the  flesh  will  be  something  strange 
and  wonderful,  and  though  at  the  resurrection 
each  will  get  back  his  own  body,  it  will  not  be 
the  body  of  our  humiliation  but  changed  by 
Christ  into  the  body  of  His  glory,  so  that  the 
contrast  will  be  marvellous  still. 

Those  that  die  in  the  Lord  will  be  without 
sin  in  the  future  life,  and  that  will  be  another 
immense  stretch  away  from  now. 

The  life  of  the  future  will  also  be  one  of 
perfect  adaptations,  and  who  can  conceive  what 
a  difference  that  will  make?  Things  will  match 
all  round.  Spirits  will  harmonize.  There  will  be 
no  maladjustment. 

But  apart  from  these  things  and  things  inci- 
dent to  them  and  growing  out  of  them  will  the 
future  be  so  marvellously  unlike  the  present? 
If  some  writers  have  materialized  heaven  over- 


2,J0  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

much,  are  we  quite  sure  that  in  our  common 
thought  we  have  not  etherealized  heaven  over- 
much? Will  it  be  so  very  different  every  way? 
What  is  there  in  the  mere  article  of  death  to 
twist  us  out  of  our  old  drifts  and  tendencies  and 
habitudes,  to  break  up  our  individualities  and 
transform  us  in  traits  and  capacities?  Washed 
clean  of  sin,  we  shall  be.  But  won't  we  go 
right  on  otherwise,  with  our  life,  with  our  growth, 
wuth  our  innocent  preferences  and  companion- 
ships and  occupations  ?  The  girl  to  whom  music 
here  is  both  praise  and  prayer  as  her  soul  goes 
up  in  sweet  melody  to  God,  may  not  have  a  piano 
in  heaven,  the  deacon's  son  may  not  hoe  potatoes 
there,  but  will  there  not  be  something  in  heaven 
answering  to  each  sinless  trait  and  taste  and 
meeting  it?  Are  we  to  be  wrenched  suddenly 
away  from  everything  of  earth  not  only,  but 
from  everything  that  characterized  us  while  here  ! 
I  do  not  believe  it !  Moses  and  Elias  came  out  of 
heaven  and  on  the  Mount  talked  with  Jesus, 
talked  as  they  would  if  they  had  never  been 
away,  talked  of  the  topic  that  lay  nearest  their 
hearts.  We  shall  do  that,  I  do  not  doubt.  Many 
a  soul  will  wait  long  beyond  the  gates  for  the 
coming  of  some  friend.  Many  a  friend  will 
go  there  to  find  some  blessed  surprises.  Multi- 
tudes will  have  it  to  say  that  ''  He  the  Master 
was  the  first  one  to  meet  me.  Never  by  one 
word  or  look  from  that  hour  to  this  day  has  He 
let  me  feel  ashamed  in  heaven."     And  to  be 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    211 

thrilled  with  the  joy  of  having  plucked  even  one 
such  brand  from  the  burning  will  be  to  under- 
stand how  it  is  that  *'  their  works  do  follow 
them." 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth,  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  labors,  for  their  works  fol- 
low with  them."  You  see  how  close  this  life  is 
to  the  next.  You  see  how  works  here  get  tied 
to  blessedness  there.  They  are  not  "  labors  "  any 
more,  to  be  wearily  done,  for  this  is  the  meaning 
of  the  word  rendered  "  labors,"  wearisome  effort, 
toil  with  stress  and  pain,  that  tires  and  hurts. 
Those  that  die  in  the  Lord  "  rest "  from  these. 
They  are  not  through  with  service.  The  record 
is  ''  They  serve  each  day  and  night."  The  **  rest  " 
is  therefore  not  the  rest  of  inactivity,  of  idleness, 
but  the  rest  of  toil  without  fatigue,  of  activity 
with  immortal  freshness  with  the  spring  and  dew 
of  eternal  youth  and  mourning.  And  the  reason 
for  the  rest  is  "  that  their  works  do  follow  them." 
The  works  pass  on  with  them  as  their  escort 
into  eternity. 

The  theme  that  thus  invites  our  meditation  is 
the  true  relation  of  Christian  works  in  this  life 
to  Christian  rest  in  the  life  to  come.  May  heaven 
be  more  real  to  us,  and  more  near  and  dear  to 
us  for  our  fellowship  with  this  truth  of  God 
to-day. 

I.  The  Christian's  works  follow  him  through 
the  gates  to  testify  to  his  right  to  the  rest. 


212  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Does  this  seem  a  bold  word  ?  Does  it  savor  of 
presumption  to  talk  of  rights  for  a  poor  sinner 
in  heaven?  If  I  deserve  nothing  but  condem- 
nation, and  God  out  of  His  infinite  and  sovereign 
grace  alone  lets  me  through  the  gates,  is  it  for  me 
to  speak  of  the  meanest  privilege  of  heaven  as 
mine  by  right  ?  In  Christ  Jesus,  yes,  not  only  the 
meanest  privilege,  but  every  privilege.  The 
whole  sweep  of  heaven,  every  room  in  it,  every 
glory  of  it,  the  ineffable,  fathomless  bliss  and 
blessedness  of  it,  is  the  rightful  claim  of  the 
Christian.  For  his  own  sake,  nothing;  for 
Christ's  sake  everything.  By  personal  merit,  not 
the  rudest  hovel  that  might  be  built  in  that  city  of 
splendor  and  gold.  By  the  merit  of  Jesus,  the 
very  palace  and  presence  chamber  of  the  King. 
The  Christian's  right  to  the  heavenly  rest  has 
been  purchased;  not  with  corruptible  things  as 
silver  and  gold,  not  with  such  common  and 
tainted  things  as  penances  and  prayers,  but  with 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  with  the  obedience 
unto  death  of  the  blessed  son  of  God.  Presenting 
that  purchase  price  before  the  Father,  Jesus 
makes  His  plea  not  as  a  beggar  begging  a  boon, 
but  as  a  royal  advocate  speaking  by  authority, 
"  Father,  I  will  that  those  whom  thou  hast  given 
me  be  with  me  where  I  am."  And  the  ransomed 
will  come  up  to  the  gates  with  rights  and  titles. 
Having  believed  and  loved,  they  will  rest  from 
their  labors.  And  their  right  to  the  rest  will  be 
vindicated,  for  ''  their  works  do  follow  them.'' 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    213 

This  attending  escort  of  witnessing  works  will 
prove  two  things,  the  genuineness  of  each  Chris- 
tian's faith  and  the  sincerity  of  his  love. 

The  works  will  follow  to  testify  to  the  genuine- 
ness of  faith.  ''  For  faith,  if  it  have  not  works, 
is  dead,"  is  a  lifeless  and  spurious  thing.  If  **  a 
brother  or  sister  be  naked  and  in  lack  of  daily 
food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them,  '  Go  in  peace, 
be  ye  warmed  and  filled,  and  yet  ye  give  them 
not  the  things  needful  to  the  body,  what  doth  it 
profit?'"  So  if  ye  say  ''Lord,  Lord,"  and  do 
not  the  things  bidden  of  the  Lord,  what  doth  it 
profit?  But  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord, 
"  Their  works  do  follow  them,"  and  the  weakest 
faith  will  go  unchallenged  in  the  face  of  that 
evidence.  Some  witnesses  will  testify  to  "  King- 
doms subdued,"  **  righteousness  wrought,"  vio- 
lences of  fire  quenched,  mouths  of  lions  stopped, 
whole  armies  turned  to  flight,  and  the  believers 
whose  faith  gets  the  testimony  of  splendid  works 
and  successes  like  these  will,  of  course,  have 
their  right  to  heaven's  rest  most  amply  vindi- 
cated. But  not  only  are  brilliant  successes  the 
works  and  therefore  the  proofs  of  genuine  faith, 
so  are  seeming  defeats.  Some  witnesses  will 
testify  to  destitutions,  afflictions,  tormentings,  to 
trials,  of  mockings  and  scourgings,  of  bonds  and 
imprisonments,  and  the  believers  whom  these 
works  follow  will  have  their  faith  proved 
genuine:  Lofty  works  and  lowly  works,  bright 
shining  works  and  hidden  works,   works  done 


214.  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

and  works  honestly  sought  to  be  done  and  there- 
fore in  God's  sight  done.  These  all  do  follow. 
An  only  son  Isaac  offered  and  a  cup  of  cold 
water  given,  a  soul  won  and  a  cross  borne,  a 
silent  struggle,  a  baptism  of  tears,  a  look  like 
Christ's  on  Peter,  with  a  great  love  and  a  great 
tenderness  and  a  great  forgiveness  in  it,  when  a 
cruel  stab  has  come  from  some  trusted  friend, 
and  the  faith  thus  testified  to  and  vindicated, 
whether  of  a  conquering  Abraham  or  a  poor 
harlot  like  Rahab,  whether  of  a  mighty  prince  in 
Israel  or  one  of  the  Lord's  hidden  ones,  shall  be 
writ  all  over  with  the  sign  manual  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven. 

But  their  works  do  follow  the  dead  that  die  in 
the  Lord  to  testify  not  only  to  the  genuineness 
of  their  faith,  but  to  the  sincerity  of  their  love. 

"  He  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me,''  is  the  infallible  test 
to  be  applied  to  all  professed  affection  for  the 
Lord  Jesus.  The  love  that  obeys  not  is  like  the 
faith  that  works  not,  dead,  cold  and  dead.  A 
genuine  love  may  not  perfectly  keep  the  King's 
precepts,  but  it  will  try,  and  the  love-prompted 
efforts,  the  struggles  toward  obedience,  the  at- 
tempts to  rise  in  the  way  of  God's  command- 
ments, will  be  the  works  that  do  follow  the  right- 
eous to  tell  at  heaven's  gates  of  a  true  and  real 
affection.  Not  necessarily  deeds  distinguished 
and  trumpeted  on  Earth,  for  whatever  good 
cause  and  with  whatever  bountifulness  of  energy 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    215 

and  liberality,  but  deeds  of  any  sort  out  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  Lord  Christ  and  with  love  behind 
them.  The  alabaster  box  of  Mary  and  the  mite 
of  the  widow  will  be  as  eloquent  in  their  witness 
of  love's  sincerity  as  any  heroic  martyrdom. 
Seeming  patchwork  here,  will  be  seen  to  have 
been  done  with  threads  of  silver  and  needle  of 
gold  on  Christ's  own  vesture,  if  love  and  tears 
shall  have  been  dropped  in  among  the  stitches. 
Thus  it  will  come  to  pass  that  the  witnessing 
works  of  God's  true  saints  following  them  when 
they  die,  by  proving  the  genuineness  of  their  faith 
and  the  sincerity  of  their  love,  will  testify  to 
their  right  to  the  heavenly  rest. 

But  this  is  not  their  only  office. 

II.  The  Christian's  works  follow  him  through 
the  gates  to  contribute  to  his  sources  of  rest. 

How  is  it  that  works  here  add  to  its  source, 
and  therefore  to  the  experience  of  heavenly 
blessedness? 

They  do  it  in  two  ways,  by  their  results  and 
by  their  rewards. 

About  the  results,  God's  own  children  often 
make  mistakes,  by  reasons  both  of  over-estimate, 
and  under-estimate.  The  results  that  loom  large 
as  they  address  the  eye,  that  arrest  attention 
and  become  the  talk  of  the  crowd  and  get  pub- 
lished from  Dan  to  Beersheba  are  likely  to  be 
counted  at  more  than  their  true  value,  while  the 
deeper  and  untrumpeted  fruits  of  toil  are  likely 
to  be   counted   at   less   than   their  true  value. 


216  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

Philip's  works  in  Samaria,  stirring  a  whole  city 
and  filling  it  with  joy,  doubtless  seemed  greater 
far  than  his  work  with  the  single  traveller  read- 
ing his  Bible  down  on  that  lonely  road  to  Gaza. 
But  God  himself  called  Philip  for  the  one  and 
set  him  at  the  other.  And  who  shall  say,  weigh- 
ing these  respective  works  in  the  scales  of  God's 
balance,  who  shall  say  what  gave  Philip  the 
greater  source  of  joy  when  he  died  in  the  Lord, 
and  his  works  did  follow  him ! 

There  are  outward  results  and  inward  results 
of  Christian  works.  And  the  outward  results  are 
sometimes  seen  and  sometimes  not.  But  no  work 
for  God  is  wholly  fruitless.  God  has  a  way  of 
returning,  after  many  days,  the  bread  that  is  cast 
upon  the  waters.  And  if  the  many  days  stretch 
on  into  eternity,  and  the  bread  is  found  again 
only  when  borne  by  the  waters  on  that  other 
shore,  is  it  not  still  true  of  such  toiling  saints 
that  their  works  do  follow  them,  to  contribute  to 
their  heavenly  rest?  ''  My  wandering  boy,  very 
wayward  scholar.  You  here !  "  And  the  breast 
that  was  thought  to  be  steeled  against  your 
tenderness  and  tears  will  tell  how  the  memory  of 
your  faithful  words  broke  it  at  last  in  penitence 
at  Jesus'  feet,  and  how  beyond  the  gates  it  has 
been  looking  for  you  long  while  that  you  might 
know  about  it. 

Ah,  these  blessed  surprises !  They  will  be 
among  the  abysmal  delights  of  heaven,  and  a  mea- 
sureless contribution  to  the  soul's  sources  of  joy. 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    217 

But  the  outward  results  of  Christian  works, 
whether  seen  or  unseen,  are  not  all.  There  is  an 
inward  process  going  on,  a  fruit  of  toil  that 
tells  on  character.  The  works  have  wrought 
some  wonderful  effects  on  the  worker.  It  is 
here  in  the  spiritual  as  it  is  in  the  natural  world. 
The  man  that  puts  what  he  has  to  good  use, 
multiplies  his  means.  He  gets  paid  by  increase 
of  capital  for  his  employment  of  capital.  The 
blow  of  the  blacksmith  tells  both  ways.  It  tells 
on  the  iron,  fitting  it  for  greater  profit.  It  tells 
on  the  muscles  of  his  arm,  fitting  that  for  profit, 
too.    He  gets  power  while  he  expends  power. 

So  it  is  with  works  in  their  effects  upon  the 
Christian  worker.  Gifts  and  graces  are  cultivated 
and  developed  and  greatly  enriched  by  use.  They 
are  weakened  and  shrivelled  and  finally  lost  al- 
together by  disuse.  They  that  do  the  most  for 
God  become  the  most,  by  an  inevitable  law,  and 
there  is  no  possible  limit  to  this  process  of  in- 
crease in  the  world  of  spirit.  The  law  has  its 
metes  and  boundaries  in  the  natural  world. 
There  is  a  point,  e.g.,  beyond  which  exercise  can- 
not go  in  its  development  of  the  body.  Time 
and  circumstances  and  the  antagonisms  devel- 
oped in  the  race  for  riches,  set  limits  to  the 
acquisitions  of  property.  But  there  is  absolutely 
no  limit  to  growth  in  the  knowledge  and  love 
of  God,  in  spiritual  power,  in  capacity  for  joy  and 
blessedness.  And  "  works  "  done  here  are  con- 
stantly enriching  the  worker  in  his  own  inner 


^18  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

life.  He  gets  more  soul  as  he  deals  with  souls. 
He  gets  more  of  God  as  he  deals  with  God.  His 
Christlike  work  begets  the  Christlike  spirit.  He 
puts  Christ  into  his  word  and  deed,  and  Christ 
comes  back  to  him  and  into  him  in  the  very  effort. 
He  gets  Christ  by  giving  Christ  just  as  the  black- 
smith gets  power  by  expending  power,  and  this 
enrichment  goes  on,  while  the  works  go  on.  And 
when  Christians  die,  in  this  sense  *'  their  works 
do  follow  them,"  i.e.,  in  these  blessed  inner  re- 
sults of  their  works,  in  this  enlarged  capacity  for 
joy  and  blessedness  and  high  place  and  compre- 
hension of  the  things  of  God  which  the  faithful 
toilers  carry  into  heaven,  and  which  will  forever 
make  their  heaven  the  richer  and  their  rest  the 
sweeter. 

Haven't  you  seen  Christian  men  and  women, 
growing  strong  in  spiritual  stature  and  large  in 
spiritual  capacity  and  rich  in  spiritual  experience, 
by  the  uses  to  which  they  put  their  gifts  and 
graces  and  the  possibilities  of  development  they 
thus  disclosed  ?  And  haven't  you  seen  Christians 
beside  them  remaining  weak  and  effeminate,  and 
really  dwarfing  their  capacity  and  belittling  their 
powers  and  shrivelling  up  their  souls,  because 
they  put  them  to  no  real  service  for  God  and 
truth?  And  then  haven't  you  seen  the  former 
getting  inexpressible  sweetness  and  joy  out  of 
some  word  of  God,  where  the  latter  found  only 
leanness  and  barrenness?  Why?  As  well  ask 
why  a  dull  clod  gapes  at  a  brilliant  sunset  and 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    219 

goes  his  way  unmoved,  getting  no  joy  for  what 
he  deems  a  common  every-day  daub,  while  an- 
other, who  has  cultivated  a  taste  for  the  beauti- 
ful, is  thrilled  with  the  exquisite  delight  coming 
through  that  developed  sense  at  sight  of  such 
divine  pencilling! 

I  once  sat  beside  a  dying  saint  whose  mind  was 
almost  gone.  I  thought  he  gave  me  no  recogni- 
tion. I  repeated  a  part  of  the  Twenty-third 
Psalm.  "  Though  I  walk  through  the  Valley  of 
the  Shadow  of  Death  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for 
thou  art  with  me,  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me."  He  was  in  the  Valley.  He  was 
passing  through.  But  he  had  tested  that  rod  and 
that  staff.  He  knew  that  Shepherd's  tender 
care.  He  had  been  led  of  Him,  often  and  often, 
beside  the  deep  waters  of  that  wonderful  Psalm. 
He  had  developed  a  taste  for  them !  And  they 
were  sweet.  O  how  sweet,  to  his  parched  lips  and 
tired  heart.  Some  minutes  afterwards,  without 
giving  another  sign  of  recognition,  and  when  our 
thought  had  turned  to  other  things,  his  lips  moved 
and  we  caught  the  words,  "  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff 
they  do  comfort  me."  Oh,  yes,  "they  rest  from 
their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

And  in  all  this,  friends,  I  have  said  nothing  of 
the  contribution  to  the  sources  of  the  rest  who 
will  be  made  by  the  Christians'  works  because 
of  their  rewards.  I  have  talked  thus  far  of 
results  or  effects;  who  shall  estimate  the  re- 
wards, who  shall  tell  what  the  "  shining  as  the 


220  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

stars  "  means,  promised  to  them  who  shall  turn 
many  unto  righteousness  ?  Who  shall  guess  what 
honorable  and  joy-giving  trust  is  intended  to  be 
committed  beyond  the  gates  to  those  whose  works 
do  follow  them,  by  the  words  of  the  Master, 
"  Thy  pound  hath  gained  ten  pounds.  Well  done, 
thou  good  and  faithful  servant.  Have  thou  au- 
thority over  ten  cities"?  From  ten  pounds  to 
ten  cities  is  immeasurable  promotion.  H  the 
giving  a  cup  of  cold  water  only,  in  the  name  of  a 
disciple,  is  worthy  of  such  reward  as  even  God 
has  to  give,  conceive  if  you  can  what  He  will 
bring  from  out  His  infinite  stores  to  reward  the 
Christian  who  has  borne  some  heavy  cross  for 
Him  or  fought  a  hard  battle  or  rescued  a  soul ! 

The  practical  lessons  are  obvious. 

I.  Our  works  are  immortal  as  well  as  we.  We 
shall  see  them  again.  And  we  are  nearer  them 
always  than  we  sometimes  think.  They  were 
wrought  in  our  past.  But  they  live  in  our  pres- 
ent. And  they  strike  on  into  our  future.  "  Some 
men's  sins  are  open  beforehand,  going  before  to 
judgment,  and  some  men  they  follow  after.  Like- 
wise also  the  good  works  of  some  are  manifest 
beforehand,  and  they  that  are  otherwise  cannot 
be  hid."  It  is  evident  that  we  are  to  look  into 
the  eyes  of  our  works  again.  Our  present  is  the 
product  of  our  past,  and  our  works  are  here  now 
in  what  we  are.  Their  indestructibleness  is  the 
soul's  indestructibleness !  Their  permanency  is 
the  permanency  of  character. 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    221 

It  is  preeminently  worth  our  while,  therefore, 
to  make  good  friends  of  our  works  to  see  that 
they  be  good  works.  If  we  are  going  to  have 
their  company  on  that  long  journey,  it  will  be 
pleasanter  for  us  in  the  end  to  do  right  things, 
righteous  things. 

2.  The  second  practical  thought  is,  that  the 
lowliest  work  for  Christ  takes  on  undying  honor 
in  the  light  of  this  truth.  Its  being  tied  to  im- 
mortality lifts  it  out  of  all  meanness  and  little- 
ness, and  tells  us  how  utterly  wrong  we  are  in 
cherishing  disparaging  thought  of  it.  What  if  our 
paths  do  not  lead  where  the  notable  achieve- 
ments can  be  wrought  and  where  the  chief  hon- 
ors seem  to  lie.  What  if  our  life  appears  some- 
how to  get  filled  only  with  the  endless  round  of 
common  things,  that  give  us  care,  and  give  us 
little  else,  when  we  do  long  so  sometimes,  with 
inexpressible  longing  to  put  some  honor  upon 
the  brow  of  our  blessed  Redeemer!  Don't  you 
remember  they  said,  "  When  saw  we  thee  an 
hungered  or  athirst,  or  sick  or  in  prison,  and 
ministered  unto  thee  ? "  And  the  King  said, 
"  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these  my 
brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me." 

3.  The  third  practical  lesson  is  the  toil,  and 
the  weariness  of  work  here  may  well  be  borne  a 
little  longer,  in  view  of  the  rest  it  surely  will 
bring.  Who  are  these  with  white  robes  and 
palms  in  their  hands  ?    These  are  they  who  came 


222  HERRICK  JOHNSON 

out  of  great  tribulation.     We  may  be   nearer 
that  than  we  think. 

"  One   sweetly  solemn   thought 
Comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er : 
I   am   nearer   home   to-day 
Thaa  ever  I've  been  before. 

"  Nearer  the  bound  of  life, 

Where  we  lay  our  burdens  down, 
Nearer  leaving  the  cross, 
Nearer  gaining  the  crown. 

"  But  lying  darkly  between, 

Winding   down    through   the   night, 
Is  the  deep   and   unknown   stream 
That  leads  at  last  to  the  light. 

"  Father,   perfect  my  trust ; 

Strengthen  the  might  of  my  faith; 
Let  me  feel  as  I  would  when  I  stand 
On  the  rock  of  the  shore  of  death ! 

"  Feel  as  I  would  when  my  feet 
Are  slipping  over  the  brink, 
For  it  may  be  I'm  nearer  home. 
Nearer  now  than  I  think !  " 

And  when  home  at  last,  oh,  the  sighs  that 
shall  be  changed  into  songs  of  deliverance !  Oh, 
the  tears  that  shall  be  as  jewels  in  the  crowns 
of  the  ransomed!  Oh,  the  labors  of  weariness 
that  shall  drop  all  their  weariness  and  become 
works  of  rest !  Oh,  the  flowers  scarce  daring 
to  look  up  into  the  face  of  God's  beautiful  days 
on  earth,  that  shall  bloom  there  at  the  very  foot 
of  the  throne !    "  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in 


AFTERNOON  AND  EVENING  TIME    223 

the  Lord ;  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 
from  their  labors,  for  their  works  follow  with 
them!" 

The  last  sentences  of  this  book  shall  be  those 
of  triumph — words  befitting  the  great  soldier  of 
the  Cross  by  whom  they  were  spoken.  Herrick 
Johnson  rejoiced  in  the  hope  of  sure  and  certain 
immortality,  and  from  one  of  his  great  sermons 
on  "  The  Resurrection  "  the  following  words  are 
taken : 

"  Only  when  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  shall 
be  brought  to  pass  will  the  highest  notes  and  the 
grandest  chords  in  the  chorus  of  our  triumph  in 
Christ  Jesus  he  struck.  Who  would  not  die! 
We  may  go  to  the  grave  with  a  shout  of  victory. 
Through  and  through  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow 
of  Death  is  shot  the  glory  of  these  resurrection 
rays.  How  He  hanks  the  way  to  the  tomb  with 
flowers,  how  He  transforms  the  grim  skeleton 
into  one  of  God's  beautiful  angels,  come  to  empty 
our  tomb  as  Christ's  tomb  in  the  garden  was 
emptied.  Oh,  Death,  where  is  thy  sting?  Oh, 
Grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  " 


WHO  WOULD  NOT  DIE! 


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